The Bells of Notre Dame
by Auron's Fan
Summary: After a mysterious note from King Mickey, our heroes travel and get stuck in a world called Notre Dame. The question is, how can they get out?
1. New World

Why, hello there

Why, hello there. :D I'm sure many of you are like "Who are you?" I'm me. :D (pelted with rotton fruit) D:

Anyway, this bout of madness is what, I, Auron's Fan, would think to happen if Riku and Sora were to, well, visit Notre Dame. Well, dang. Look at the title. What did you think it was, angst?!

This story is being written for a livejournal community, 7rainbowprompts, and I've wanted to write this for such a long time...so...

The Bells of Notre Dame

Chapter 1 - New World

Beta - rainbowserenity

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

It had been just another boring day on Destiny Islands according to Sora as he laid on the beach. His eyes were closed, but he didn't need to have them opened. He was happy with the peace, knowing that Riku and Kairi weren't all that far away when suddenly…

_WHACK_.

Sora jumped up, Keyblade appearing in his hand out of habit and ready to dismantle any Heartless that _dare_ ruin his rest. Unfortunately, all he saw was…

"Donald?" He blinked, rubbing his eyes to make sure this wasn't an illusion. The duck narrowed his eyes before giving Sora another whack with his staff.

"Of course it is! Who else would it be?" Sora shrugged before noticing Goofy standing behind the duck. He grinned and leaned over to give his other friend a hug.

"Why, hyuck, how've you been, Sora?" Goofy cheerfully asked, patting the teen on the back. Donald's eyes narrowed further and a few moments later, he'd electrocuted both Goofy and Sora.

Both blinked at the duck, who was already waddling to the play island. "Find Kairi and Riku. They need to see this too."

* * *

"Wait…" Kairi began, running a hand through her hair. The redhead had been shopping with Wakka and Selphie when Sora had informed her of what was going on. After a look at his electrocuted clothing, she'd quickly followed. "So, King Mickey needs Riku and Sora…?" The girl's eyes narrowed and she stared straight into Donald's eyes. "And not me?"

"Ahyuck, well, the King told us that those two would fit the part," Goofy started before a small voice spoke. All that were accounted for stared down in disbelief as Jiminy began to talk.

"King Mickey said that those two would be able to fit into the new world easier. Sorry, Miss Kairi," he said, tipping his hat at the girl. "Nothing to do with your fighting skills, but even Donald and Goofy aren't allowed to go."

Goofy gave a nod and Donald finally looked up from glaring at Riku. The two had been doing so since they set eyes on each other. "What? The king said that –"

Goofy shook his head. "Nope! The king said that they'd had to find their way on their own, Donald. Remember?" The dog creature suddenly winced as Donald whapped him upside the head.

"So anyway…" Riku commented, glancing at the paper in front of him. "Where is King Mickey sending us…?" Sora pried the paper out of Riku's hands and scanned through the letter, bypassing the king's cheerful, but rushed apology about how he had to bestow this task on them.

"…Notre Dame?" Sora read in bemusement. Riku and Kairi exchanged glances, and Donald tapped his foot impatiently, hoping to leave soon. "I don't know about you guys, but I know my parents won't let me just go."

"He's right…" Kairi responded, slumping in her chair, slightly depressed that the King didn't want her to travel at all. Riku plucked the paper out of Sora's hands, and skimmed it.

" 'I, King Mickey,' " Riku read, catching the attention of the two teens. " 'Am giving the two keybearers, Riku and Sora, permission to travel the worlds once again in my absence. Accompanied by my court knight, Goofy, and my court magician, Donald Duck, they shall head for Radiant Garden by Gummi ship, in order to reach the destination of Notre Dame in a month.'" Riku glanced up, a slight smile. "He's basically letting us out of school, and informing out parents we'll be alright. Although, Kairi, you're not mentioned…"

The girl narrowed her eyes at the paper, before turning to Goofy. "And if anyone asks, I am included; the king simply forgot to mention me, _right?_" The knight blinked, before nodded enthusiastically. Satisfied with his answer, Kairi looked back to Riku with a look that read "see?"

Sora nodded, before standing, hands on his waist in a goofy heroic stance. "Alrighty then! We'll speak to our parents –guardians," he added, glancing over to Kairi. "who are more than likely to kill us for leaving them again, and then, we shall head off to Hollow Bastion!"

"Radiant Garden," Riku corrected, as the teens and the two animals filed out of Sora's living room. The brunet scowled, but followed them anyway.

* * *

It hadn't taken too long to prepare. After a seemingly long time deciding, their parents (and guardians) agreed that they should be able to scrounge the worlds. The note from the King was definitely a large factor, however. Donald and Goofy then took the three of them to Radiant Garden (once known as Hollow Bastion); Kairi was to be put under the care of Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid while Riku and Sora prepared for their trip. Luckily Cid was still able to make gummi ships, so once they explained the mission, he'd begun making one immediately.

"Why did the king say we couldn't bring Kairi again?" Riku questioned, absentmindedly summoning his Keyblade before sending it off again with a slight frown. Summoning his weapon recently had become slightly difficult, seeing as how he hadn't done so for a while.

Sora mused for a moment before answering. "Well, the king believes that if there's three of us, it'll cause too much of a commotion." Which he didn't really understand, but maybe that was the way the world worked. But the fact that Donald nor Goofy weren't allowed to come made him slightly nervous. "And…I think he doesn't want one of us traveling with her alone."

Giving a faint smile, Riku shook his head. "That's the king for you - worried about everyone and everything and still able to keep old traditions." Standing with a slight stretch, Riku mussed Sora's brown spikes before heading out the door with a wave. "Leon promised to practice with me. We haven't been fighting often with our Keyblades and I want to make sure I'm top notch."

Sora raced after the teen and put a hand on his shoulder. "Shouldn't we fight together, then? I mean, we are going to be fighting side by side, so shouldn't we at least know each other's fighting techniques?"

Riku chuckled slightly. "Sora…we've fought side by side since we were kids. We should learn how to fight others, right?" Running a hand through his spiky hair, Sora mumbled an agreement and Riku smiled. "Good. I'll see you later."

* * *

It had been three weeks since that conversation, but the two boys had been so busy that they rarely saw each other. Sora had been training with Kairi, only to learn that the girl fought in almost the same way he did when he received the Keyblade – wildly and without a plan. As he explained to her the different techniques, Sora sometimes could hear Riku and Leon (and if Riku was really unlucky, Cloud would join in) clashing sword versus Keyblade and the staggered cry of someone receiving a wound.

Sora didn't want to seem jealous, but the fact that Riku had gotten all that special training… kind of made him mad. He shook his head and, alongside Donald and Goofy, continued to help Kairi train. They all needed the practice, and if heartless started invading Radiant Garden again, they would need all the help they could get.

Sora wasn't jealous, nope, especially not on the day that they were leaving. Leon had given the silver-haired teen a pat on the back; his way of saying that he'd enjoyed the sparring matches. Riku had nodded in response before climbing aboard the gummi ship. Sora almost scowled, but kept his facial expressions intact when Kairi gave him a goodbye hug and a light kiss on the cheek, telling him to write everything about the new world. Oh, and threatening him that if he didn't, he would be missing two very important pieces of him. Sora nodded (mostly out of nervousness. How could someone like Kairi even _think_ about that?) before giving both Donald and Goofy goodbye hugs as well.

Aerith was waving from a few feet away, a slight smile on her face; Yuffie was inssessantly babbling that the two had better tell them _everything_ once they returned; and Cid was Cid, chewing on a toothpick, and warning them that if they messed up his gummi ship…

Sora and Riku had nodded. Boarding the gummi ship, Sora quickly headed for the controls (having used them for almost a year and a half), and Riku gave the rest of the people a wave out of the window.

After Sora had started up the ship, he waved to Kairi, Donald, Goofy, anyone he could see, before jabbing his thumb on the lift off button, and sending the gummi out into gummi space.

* * *

"So…" Riku spoke, breaking the silence that had settled upon them ever since they set off. "How much longer?"

Sora kept his attention on the windshield of the ship, plugging in the coordinates that King Mickey had given them. Riku sighed slightly before standing up and covering Sora's eyes with his hands. Sora glared at the offending hand before shoving Riku away. "Stop. I have to plug these in exactly or I'll mess up the landing."

"Are you mad that you had to train Kairi instead of fighting alongside me against Leon and Cloud?" Riku offered, prodding the brunet with a spare magic book Donald must've left in the ship while inspecting it. "I mean, you seemed to be having fun helping her with Goofy and that thing."

Sora narrowed his eyes even further. "Donald. His name is Donald." Riku shrugged before standing.

"Well…I'll have you know…" Riku sighed and rubbed his neck slightly, sounding nervous. Sora paid no attention and continued punching in the numbers. This passed for a few moments before Riku snatched the paper out of Sora's hands, much to the brunet's displeasure.

"Riku! Do you want us to die? I need to make sure we can land!" Sora exclaimed, reaching for the paper. Riku kept it deftly out of his reach before Sora sighed and sat back down on the chair. "Fine. I guess we'll float in gummi space until you come to your senses…"

"I was jealous."

Sora blinked, and turned in his chair to face the silver-haired teen, who was currently looking down to the floor. "I never liked Donald, you know that. Kairi, Goofy, and Donald occupied your time while I was stuck with Leon and Cloud. And I don't care what you say, those two are _not_ fun to hang out with, unless you don't mind getting beaten within an inch of your life." Riku sighed and sat back down in his seat before surrendering the coordinate seat with a frown.

Taking the sheet and placing it on the dashboard, Sora turned again to face Riku. "Really?"

The other teen looked up, a smile spreading on his face. "Promise." Riku leaned toward Sora, resting his head on his hands with a smile.

Then Sora remembered that the instruction sheet had said that you had to continuously type in the coordinates. After that, the ship turned to pandemonium.

Riku jumped at the obnoxiously loud alarm as the ship began to shake. Sora's eyes widened as he frantically tried to key in the numbers, but apparently the computer had frozen. Well, no matter. At least the ship had been gently floating near a world, one with a large cathedral, apparently. Sora relaxed and sat in his seat to tell Riku that he could manually land the ship when he noticed Riku wasn't in _his_ seat.

"Riku…?" Sora exclaimed, jumping from his seat and looking around. With no one at the main controls, the ship began to shake and Sora fought to keep his balance. "Riku?!" After a quick search, he came to the only conclusion his mind could even wrap around: Riku must've fallen out onto the world, like when Donald, Goofy and he had crashed into the Deep Jungle. Biting his lip, he attempted to run back to the control panel, to see if he could forcibly gain control of the ship, but as he ran, the ship lurched again, and Sora felt himself tumbling into Gummi Space.

His last coherent thought was, "_Riku…_"

Then everything went black.


	2. Angel Fallen From Above

Why, hello there

A/N- Why, hello there again! Here's the second installment of this bout of insanity, "The Bells of Notre Dame". Thank you for the…two reviews, and the…one favoring and alerting. Um. Although, I hope people do know this, that reviews make me update faster! Especially on ff(dot)net. Seeing as I could probably go a week or so without ever touching this site, even though I updated on LJ.

Anyway. Oh. If the chapter titles confuse you, they're the prompts for the community I'm writing this for. No need for confusion. :D

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 2 – Angel Fallen from Above

Beta - **Rainbowserenity**

* * *

"What is he?"

"He must be a demon!" a hushed voiced responded, sounding nervous. "Just look at his hair! His pale skin!"

Riku groaned, and there was a sharp intake of breath. "He lives!"

"Quick! We must strike him down before he can harm us all with his power!"

Barely able to understand what the voices were talking about, Riku put his head back down, keeping his eyes closed.

A fourth (or was that a fifth? He couldn't keep track…) voice cut in, scolding the others. "Demon or not, he's only a boy. We can care for him."

That was all Riku could comprehend before plunging into darkness again.

* * *

Sora barely moved a muscle, wanting to rub his head in pain, but could only whimper; his arm was bleeding (lightly, but it still was) and he was getting a growing headache from the obnoxiously loud ringing. He didn't _mean_ to hit the stupid, giant bell, but he did nonetheless, and his throbbing head was the result.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Sora froze, wishing that he could melt through the cracks on the floor.

"It could possibly be nothing more than a pigeon," a second voice replied. "However, shouldn't we check?"

"Pigeons couldn't do _that_ kind of damage," the first voice retorted. "I bet its dead, though!"

"Hello?" Sora raised his head and blinked. He blinked again, hoping that it was just the way he was looking at the man made his face so…well, disoriented. Blinking again, he realized that the man did indeed look like that, but since the man was holding a cup of water and quickly heading over to him, he decided that this random person must be quite nice.

Or he was planning to drown him.

"Are you alright?" the man inquired, spooning a bit of water and holding it out. Sora groaned with a yes, thankful for the water, before holding his head in agony. He must've been losing his mind, seeing as now there was some walking (or hopping) and talking gargoyles.

"Quite a fall, young man," the younger and thinner of the three (was he younger? He couldn't really tell seeing as they were not human) informed in, shaking his head. The fatter one grinned before hopping next to him and whacking him upside the head.

"Yep. He's dead!" the fat one exclaimed. "_You_ owe me munny!"

"I'm not _dead!_" Sora exclaimed, sitting up despite his throbbing head. "Where…who…"

The man blinked before realizing that not only was the boy wearing some, well, intricate clothing (nothing like he'd ever seen before), but was probably confused out of his mind. "I'm Quasimodo," he began with a slight smile. "He's Victor," he added, pointing to the thin gargoyle.

The fat one continued whacking Sora upside the head until the brunet scowled and pushed the gargoyle away. 'Victor' and the fat one began to argue as Quasimodo continued. "Well, that one's Hugo and the one covered in birds is Laverne."

"Well, I'm Sora," Sora smiled, ignoring his aching head. "And…where are we?"

"France!" Hugo exclaimed, shoving Victor away with a sarcastic smirk.

"Paris!" Victor corrected, closing his eyes and playing the scholar he was.

Laverne didn't respond to Sora's question, seeing as she was bickering with the birds that rested on her to fly off.

Quasimodo then spoke. "We're in Notre Dame…which is this cathedral." Sora, who had only been half paying attention as he looked around, snapped his attention back to the bell ringer in awe.

"_This_ is Notre Dame?" Quasimodo nodded in response and Sora jumped up, almost slamming his head against a bell. "Wow…and whoops…?" He winced when the bell ringer had rushed over to him to…comfort the bell. Sora blinked in confusion. "Sorry…I'm trying to find my friend Riku. If you see him around here, could you tell me?"

Quasimodo shook his head solemnly. "Sorry. I can't leave here."

Sora was now utterly confused. "Why not?"

"My master." The bell ringer sighed dolefully before perking up. "But maybe your friend is around the bell tower!"

The fat gargoyle, Hugo, snorted. "From the way you made an entrance, I'm sure we would've heard your friend as well."

Sora sighed as well. "Oh…" He began looking around, seeing if there were any obvious exits in which he could use to escape from said "master".

After a moment, Quasimodo suddenly spoke. "How…how about I show you around the bell tower? You'll be able to get a feel for this place, and you might spot your friend below."

Sora grinned and nodded. "That would be great! Thanks!"

* * *

"…I think he's waking…"

"You're going to be watching him, you know. His food will come from your stash. And make _sure_ he doesn't know the way in or out. Can't have any outsiders blabbing our secrets to…"

"I know already! Will you leave?"

Riku blinked his eyes open, glad to be under some tent of sorts so the light of the sun couldn't bother him. What he _did_ see, however, was a woman with long, black hair, pressing a cold cloth to his forehead with a smile. "Are you alright?"

"…I think so," he responded softly, feeling uncomfortable. Then it hit him. "Um, where are my _clothes_?!" He realized that _luckily_ he was still wearing boxers, but still! Everything else!

The woman gave a smile that could've been taken as a smirk. "When you fell, your clothes... well, Djali, could you bring them?"

Riku glanced down to the small goat, who carried a small bundle of shredded cloths in his mouth. His eyes widened his slight horror when he realized that those shredded cloths were _his clothes_. Suddenly feeling extremely naked, he wrapped the sheet that he lay under tightly around him. "Can…I borrow some clothes?" he asked, feeling embarrassed to even have to ask such a question.

The woman smiled again before gesturing over to a chair, where a bundle of clothing sat. "It's just a simple pair of pants and a shirt…" She trailed off as Riku shuffled over to the clothing and politely snatched it out of the chair. "Well, if you wish to stay with us, you might as well dress like us…and…" She pulled out a bundle of bracelets from behind her back. "And since your hair is fairly long…"

Riku resisted scowling at the woman, realizing that she was only trying to help him. "I'm very sorry, but I'm _not_ cutting my hair. I don't care if that's a custom for the males around here, but…"

The woman quickly shook her head. "No! No, I'm sorry." She gave a slight laugh that reminded him of a wind chime. Involuntarily, he smiled back before shaking the smile off his face to hear her out. "Oh, and before I forget, I'm Esmeralda. Your name is…?"

"…Is this an interrogation?" he asked, stepping away and holding his new clothes out as though they were weapons. When she fiercely shook her head, he answered, "Riku."

Esmeralda smiled. "Alright then, Riku. My people usually have their hair grown out…so…if you don't mind a few braids in your hair and maybe a few…" She reached into the pile behind her and pulled out some ribbons. "...of these, then you should fit right in."

Riku exhaled. "…I'll do it. But…can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Have you seen a boy, about my height and age, but with brown hair, around here? I was travelling with him, when we suddenly fell out of our gummi ship…"

"Gummi…?" she repeated. "Is a gummi ship what they use in the wars now…?" Her mouth thinned into a line and she took a step closer to Riku. "Are you a spy, sent to destroy the gypsies?"

"The who?" Riku asked, stepping back with every step Esmeralda took. "No! My friend and I were…erm…traveling! Yes, we were traveling, but we fell out of our ship and landed here…and…" He frowned. "I'd really appreciate finding him…"

She sighed softly. "I'm sorry, Riku, but I haven't seen him… We'll keep a look out when we visit the city, though."

Riku blinked. "Visit…the city?"

Esmeralda gave another laugh. "Yes, of course! How long have you been in Paris to not see gypsies around the city?"

Riku blinked again, realizing he wasn't getting the whole picture. "…Paris? Where's…that?"

She raised her eyebrow. "You must've hit your head pretty hard there to have forgotten about Paris." With a sigh, she placed the bracelets and ribbons down onto the bed. "Dress quickly, and then bring these. The little ones can do your hair later on and then I'm sure we will be able to at least go by Notre Dame to pray for your memory before the festival…"

Riku jumped up. "Notre Dame? _This_ is Notre Dame?" She quickly reached a hand to his forehead, looking genuinely puzzled when she retracted it.

"Strange…you don't have a fever." She shook her head and added, "Notre Dame is the cathedral, Riku. Now hurry up. Clopin got a look at you and thought that you might the perfect addition to the Festival of Fools. Please stop giving me that look! Everyone knows about the Festival of Fools!"

"They…do?" Riku asked, feeling dumber by the minute. Esmeralda sighed yet again.

"_Yes_, so please get dressed! I'll be just outside this tent to take you where you need to go." With that, she gracefully exited, leaving Djali and Riku staring at the flap.

"So…what now?" Riku heard himself ask the goat. The goat bleated and ran out of the tent as well. Sighing, Riku stepped into the tight pair of pants (he refused to use the word "leggings" when the thing was going on his body) before sitting down on the bed, the blue shirt lying dejected beside him.

'_Sora…you are here somewhere…right?_ '

* * *

"And that's that," Quasimodo declared proudly, leading Sora back to the main area. Sora had quickly gotten over his attitude after seeing the bells and the awesome view of Paris one could see from the bell tower. Although he was a bit upset he still hadn't found Riku, he felt that the silver-haired teen would be okay, and he planned his next move – escape.

"Thanks, Quasimodo…but I have to go look for my frien –" He cut off quickly after hearing the _creak_ of the door. "What was…?"

"Quick, hide!" Quasimodo ordered, and Sora dove under the table in a flash. He had enough of a view to see who was coming, and when he finally _saw_ the person, he inched even farther under the table.

The man was obviously some sort of church official with his robes and the interesting hat he wore. But what kept Sora hidden were his eyes; eyes that shone with some hidden sort of anger, and seemed as if he wouldn't have flinched if someone was being beaten in front of him.

"Good morning, Quasimodo." Sora shuddered, shrinking against the back of the table. _That_ man was creepy. Weirder than creepy – frightening.

With that, Sora realized that he _had_ to get out of here and find Riku as soon as possible.


	3. Nail Polish

Why, hello there

A/N- Why…hi again! I've been updating rather quickly, so yay:D Usually, months could pass before fics are updated (just look at some of my other stories), but since this is a comm list of prompts…I post faster. :D

Thanks a billion for your kind reviews! (When I say "I want reviews!" I usually don't expect to get any. So thanks!)

Well, onto the next chapter of The Bells of Notre Dame, in which…well, you'll see. :D

Chapter 3 –Nail Polish

Beta - **Rainbowserenity**

* * *

Frollo had finally left the bell tower. Sora climbed from under the table to see the three gargoyles crowding around Quasimodo as the hunchbacked man leaned over a railing of the cathedral with a sad expression. "Why would he say such things?" Sora questioned, approaching Quasimodo. "I mean…true you're not like others but…"

Quasimodo just shook his head. "I'm just a monster," he replied with a slump. "Master's raised me for twenty years; he would know it best." The man sighed again before returning his gaze to the city. "Just one day, I'd love to go down there…"

"Well, make it today!" the fat gargoyle, Hugo chimed in, hopping onto the railing with surprising ease. "The grand FoF! Best day to go down!"

"But we've already brought this up," the thin one, Victor commented. "His master would notice extremely quickly."

Sora blinked, looking from bell ringer to gargoyle. "FoF?" he repeated, raising his eyebrow (as much as he could, anyway). "What's that?"

Laverne had finally gotten the birds off her for a moment, so she took the time to answer. "Festival of Fools; all the common folks go down and have a good time. Except our Quasi here…"

"I bet those people down there don't even realize how great they have it…" Quasimodo mumbled, resting his head on his hands. Sora bit his lip, feeling bad for the man, but he still had to leave and find Riku! And…well, whatever King Mickey wanted them to do was still important, but Riku had the parchment in _his_ clothes.

Not wanting to bug Quasimodo or pester Hugo, Sora quietly tapped Victor on the shoulder. "Um, excuse me..." He didn't know how to feel: stupid for talking to stone gargoyle (though he'd done so before) or underclassed, seeing as Victor seemed very…mature for some reason. "Is there a way to get out of here? Without using the stairs?"

Victor was about to respond when Quasimodo jumped up. "I'll help you!" the man grinned, beginning to lean over the railing, looking for good footholds. "I'll get you out of the tower!"

Sora's eyes widened. "Wait…wait! I just meant a back door or something! You don't have to do this—"

He instantly shut up, though, when Quasimodo easily hefted him over his shoulder, and the bell ringer hopped over the edge of the railing. "You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Quasimodo asked, realizing that it was kind of too late for Sora now if he was.

Was Sora afraid of heights? No. Was Sora _slightly_ nervous about being dangled off a gianormous bell tower, hanging on to a man who only had one hand attached to the building? Yes, yes he was, and that was probably why Sora didn't respond and simply clung tightly to Quasimodo's neck, praying to someone that he didn't fall.

"Well, hang on!" Quasimodo smiled for the first time since Frollo left and jumped down the bell tower.

* * *

"You want me to _what?_"

Eyes, all different shapes, sizes, and colors, stared back to the silver-haired teen as he stood in disbelief. Riku shook his head, about to run a hand through his hair, only to stop, remembering the braids in it; the bracelets on his arm jangled quietly, louder than anyone was currently breathing at the moment.

Clopin simply stared back to him. "And why not? You seem to have the body of a dancer, or at least a warrior. From far away, the people won't notice!" The man allowed a broad smile to spread on his face. "It shall be a perfect addition to the festival!"

As the gypsies around him cheered, Riku shrunk in his seat, mumbling to himself, "I can't even _dance!_"

As though that was the magic words, at least thirty people surrounded him, each smile wider than the last. "I can teach you!" one man exclaimed, attempting to push in.

A group of women raised their eyebrows at him. "There is no one that likes the boisterous way a man dances…"

"Like they can dance at all," someone added, and the people laughed. One of the woman, who looked about as old as Esmeralda, walked up to him with a smile.

"I'm Glaia," she smiled to him, and he gave a weak smile back. "I can teach you to dance. But, even in the outfit you're wearing, you'll have to dance in a much more…feminine fashion."

"Can't he be dressed as a woman?" one person shouted, and although they all laughed, their eyes were serious. Riku looked from person to person, realizing that it would be rude to make an 'X' out of his fingers and run away, especially after they'd taken care of him, but there was _no_ way they were going to make him dress like the woman did here.

And besides, he had a noticeable lack of cleavage, something every woman had in abundance _here_.

Glaia must've recognized the same problem because she pointed it out to the group and some of the men and women sighed. One woman, however, simply approached him with a smile. "If we make his pants a little…bigger and his shirt a little tighter…we could pass him off."

"…Not as a woman?" Riku asked hopefully. The other woman nodded and Glaia tapped her chin.

"You might need a few more hair ribbons," she joked with a smile as Riku rolled his eyes with good nature. Esmeralda had said the little ones would take care of his hair, and that they did. The top hair of his hair was braided (with ribbons entwined in the braids) and pulled back and the bottom part was hanging free. Although he would never do such a look again, he had to admit that it looked slightly cool.

"Alright…so… let's go get my outfit, huh?" Riku gave a weak smile as the woman and Glaia began to drag him away. "Oh…where's Esmeralda?"

Glaia playfully rolled her eyes. "On the streets again. She loves dancing and since she does receive money for it, it's not like Clopin can really scold her for it." She shook her head and forcefully shoved Riku into a tent against his protests and quickly hurried inside.

* * *

"Sora…Sora? Are you alright?" Quasimodo questioned, shaking the brunet Keyblader.

Sora was currently staring up to the sky, wondering if it just became bluer because he died. That last jump was too far of a jump for either of them to have lived. Great, now he was dead and stuck in heaven without Riku or Kairi…

_Thump_.

Sora jerked up as Quasimodo stared at him, a statue of Mother Mary looming behind him. "Why'd you drop me?" Sora scowled slightly, rubbing the back of his head. Quasimodo shrugged.

"You weren't answering and it certainly woke you up," he replied in a good-natured tone. Sora sighed before nodding. "You'll want to head that way." He pointed in one direction. "That way..." Quasimodo pointed in the other direction. "Heads out of Paris, and if you and your friend were traveling together, he's probably still in the city."

"So…this is where we part ways, huh?" Sora frowned slightly, but he did realize that the bell ringer refused to even step foot out of the tower. Quasimodo nodded, but leaned his hand down. Sora leaned up to shake it and added, "I'm sure we'll see each other again."

Quasimodo opened his mouth to say something when the clopping of horses cut him off. His eyes widened and he gave Sora a quick wave before bounding up the side of the cathedral again.

Sora spun around to see a solider approaching, his head in a map and his horse following by faithfully. Every once in a while, the solider would look up, attempting to speak to someone, only to cut off when they would quickly pass by them. Almost shrugging to himself, Sora decided that he would go meet the person (better than being lost and/or attacked down here), and as he did, the person began crumpling up his map, rolling his eyes to his horse.

"You leave town for a couple of decades and they change everything," he muttered and continued walking, almost crushing Sora. "Whoa! Sorry there, kid. Didn't see you…" He raised his eyebrow at Sora and the brunet instantly knew what the problem was.

"I'm…kind of not from around here…" Sora began, realizing that his clothing was going to have to be changed. At this rate, he would be arrested before finding Riku!

"I noticed," the man replied, his eyebrow raised humorously. "You seem just as lost and bewildered as a fawn…or at least, me." With a roll of his eyes, he held up the map he'd crumpled. "Paris has changed in the last couple of years."

"Paris…where's that?" Sora questioned, feeling curious. The man's eyes widened slightly.

"Kid, you're standing in Paris. You know…Paris, France?" Sora blinked back at the man and he simply sighed. "Yeesh, wherever you're from, you mustn't be taught well. So, where? England? Germany? Hm…" With a stroke of his beard, he added, "Your skin is almost dark enough to maybe be from the Indies everyone keeps discussing…"

Sora blinked again, wondering if maybe all this information was in the King's letter. Riku had been the one to analyze it!

The man sighed. "I suppose it's a good thing you speak French, then." Sora was about to ask what this 'French' was when the man reached into his saddlebag. "Kid, take these clothes. At least people will stop looking at you so strangely."

Sora blinked a third time, realizing that the clothes were a pair of tight pants and a simple white top. "So…um, thanks, but who are you?"

The man blinked as well. "Apparently all that I've done in the wars hasn't been noted. Captain Phoebus, which means 'sun god'." Phoebus looked proud of the fact, but Sora simply blinked in confusion. "…Kid, maybe you should stick with me. With eyes that innocent, you're more than likely going to be mugged."

Sora nodded and a few minutes later, had changed into his new outfit (he at least snuck into an alley to change. He didn't do so in broad daylight!). Phoebus raised his eyebrow at the clothing Sora handed back to him, but he didn't question it and simply placed it into his saddlebag. "I'm Sora! And…um…where are you going?"

"The Palace of Justice, if I can find it," Phoebus sighed with a shake of his head. "At this rate, though, we might be lost forever, Sora." Although his tone was serious, he was smiling, so Sora smiled in retribution.

They began walking again when Sora heard a faint sound. "What is that?" he questioned, looking around before finally setting eyes on a girl with long, black hair and dark skin who dancing alongside a goat. He was about to ask Phoebus who she was, but Sora turned to the Captain to see that he was staring at the girl in a very captivated manner. _Uh oh…_

Apparently a little girl thought that the woman was pretty as well and reached forward to touch her before her mother jerked her back. "Stay away, child - they're gypsies. They'll steal us blind!"

Sora raised his eyebrow and Phoebus approached the woman, dropping a few coins in her hat that lay on the ground. She looked up to him, smiling slightly, when there was suddenly a whistle that broke the moment. The man playing the instrument fled and the goat attempted to run. The woman began to run as well, before quickly heading back and grabbing the hat full of coins, only to be stopped by two guards.

"Alright gypsy, where'd you get the money?" the first guard with a long moustache asked, grabbing one of her arms.

The woman glared at the two. "For your information, I earned it."

The second guard, a fat one, sneered. "Gypsy's don't _earn_ money."

"Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down," the first one smirked before the woman kicked him in the face, knocking the smirk off his face. "Why, I oughta…"

"Hey! She said she didn't steal it, so lay off, you jerks!" All three of them stopped moving as Sora stood, pointing his Keyblade at the guards. "I saw her earn the money so stop bugging her!"

The gypsy, glad for the distraction, kicked the guard who was holding her down where the light doesn't shine before sprinting off. The thin one with a long mustache fell to the ground in pain, and the fat one almost started chasing her when Phoebus suddenly spoke. "Achilles! Sit!"

The first guard yelped in pain as Phoebus's horse sat on him. Sora grinned up to Phoebus, who smiled back, before the fat guard pulled out a dagger. "You peasants don't know who you're dealing with…"

Phoebus quickly unsheathed his sword. "You were saying, Lieutenant?" The fat one's eyes widened before he attempted a salute, only to bean himself upside the head.

"At your service, Captain!"

Phoebus smirked slightly. "I realize you both are busy, but would you be so kind as to show my squire and I to the Palace of Justice?" he asked, instructing his horse to stand again. The first guard leapt to his feet, nodding, and the fat one began to instruct people to move out of the way for _Captain_ Phoebus.

Sora bent down, collecting a few fallen coins, and handed them to Phoebus. "What type of weapon _is_ that?" Phoebus questioned as they began following the guards.

"Uh…heh, heh, heh…" Sora grinned sheepishly and Phoebus shook his head.

"It might be wiser to keep that key…thing hidden for now."

Sora nodded and turned to continue following the guards, but he didn't miss when Phoebus stealthily dropped the coins into a beggar's hat. A quick turn of his head showed him that it was the same girl, and she smiled at Phoebus, although the Captain couldn't see it.


	4. Trust In Your Heart

A/N- Wow... I'm so sorry! My life got to hectic from the last update to today, it's not even funny. Heck, I have another band competition in about an hour. D: But anyway, I'm sorry!

New readers! Thanks! Just...you know. Review? Please?

Oh, I turned 16 on Oct 10. :D

Next chapter! Don't worry though, the next will come much MUCH quicker. ...I hope. :D

Chapter 4 - Trust In Your Heart

Beta - none for this chapter (everyone's working on NaNoWriMo as I am. :D I've gotten 6,000+ words so far!)

* * *

Maybe it was the screams Sora heard as he entered the room alongside Phoebus that tipped him off. Perhaps it was the creepy, dungeon-like atmosphere that kinda, sorta frightened him. Whatever it was, after he heard the next crack of a whip, and another shrill scream pierce the air, he stuck even closer to Phoebus. The blond simply glanced down to the boy, before shaking his head, and stepping foreword.

The man instructing the executioner turned, and allowed a broad, malicious to cross his face. Sora's eyes widened, but he stood next to Phoebus attempting not to grimace –Frollo was an intimidating person in his own right.

As if reading Sora's mind, Frollo gave a slight nod, before glancing to Phoebus. "Ah, so this is the gallant Captain Phoebus, home from the wars."

Phoebus nodded in response. "Reporting for duty, as ordered, sir."

Frollo simply nodded again, before looking the captain over, as though inspecting the man for any flaws. Perhaps he didn't see any, in which he gave another slight nod. "Your service record precedes you, Phoebus. I expect nothing but the best from a war hero of your caliber."

As Phoebus continued speaking of how he would certainly be able to continue the duty of captain even on the streets of Paris, Sora was inspecting this 'Frollo' over. Even though the man was seemingly old (Quasimodo had said Frollo had taken care of him for twenty years, and his looks hadn't changed much), he seemed…almost dangerous in his manner of being. Perhaps it was his piercing eyes or his calm tone after he instructed a man to whip with more force. Whatever it was…

"I don't think you mentioned, Phoebus," Frollo paused for a bit, staring down to Sora. "But…_who_ exactly is this boy?"

Phoebus raised an eyebrow, giving a quick glance down to Sora, before giving the same excuse he gave the other guards. "My squire, sir. He accompanied me when I was in the wars, and when I was given the order to return to Paris, I brought him as well."

Frollo nodded, and slowly walked around Sora, as if inspecting the keybearer. Sora scowled slightly, and Pheobus gave a slight shrug. "Interesting… he is certainly an unusual squire… His hair is peculiar… His skin is almost dark enough to be …one of _them_…" Frollo's eyes flashed down to him, and Sora yanked his arm away. "But no matter." Turning back to Phoebus, Frollo continued speaking. "You, Captain Phoebus and …squire, have come to Paris in her darkest hour." He shuddered. "It will take a firm hand to save the weak-minded from being mislead."

"Mislead, sir?" Phoebus replied, walking after Frollo as they headed to the balcony of the Palace of Justice. Sora shuffled behind, frowning.

He'd been here for almost two days, and there was still no sign of Riku! Even when, in his first adventure, Donald and Sora had crashed landed the Gummi Ship into the Deep Jungle, and they were separated, they weren't separated for this long! He almost wanted to thank Phoebus, give the man back the outfit, and continue looking for Riku, but if this creepy Frollo was suspicious of him, he probably wouldn't be able to navigate the city without being questioned.

Lost in his thoughts, Sora crashed into Phoebus as the two men stopped walking. Frollo was looking down onto the streets of Paris in disgust. "Look, Captain--gypsies." Frollo shuddered twice that day, and continued. "They live outside our normal ways, and inflame the peoples' lowest instinct, and they must be _stopped_."

"I was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers and palm readers?" Phoebus asked incredulously, shaking his head.

Frollo disagreed. "No… the real war, Captain, is what you see before you. For twenty years, I've been taking down the gypsies…" he eyed three ants scurrying across the balcony's railing, and killed off the three with each of his next words. "One, by, one."

Sora didn't know what was creepier –the fact that the man seemed to be enjoying his talks about destroying innocent people, or that he kept staring at Sora when he said this. He skin was, say, darker than Riku's, but that's mostly because he had been running around in the sun for the better part of a year, and Riku had been trapped in some one else's body for a year! And just because these people never got sun…

With a sigh, Sora shook his head, and actually continued listening to the man. "They have a …nest, if you will. They call it… the Court of Miracles."

"And what are we going to do about it, sir?" Phoebus asked, raising his eyebrow at Frollo. Frollo gave a broad smile, and slammed down the tile Sora hadn't even seen him pick up onto the unsuspecting ants.

"That's sick!" both men turned around, but only Frollo was eyeing Sora in amusement. Phoebus was raising his eyebrow in a "what-in-the-world-are-you-doing?!" look. "Sure, they're unusual, and _you're_ not used to them," Sora made a point of jabbing his finger in Frollo's direction. He was sick of this world and its biased people. What he really wanted to do was grab Riku, and head home, but he obviously couldn't. They had no idea where the Gummi Ship even _was_! "But what right does that give you to kill them?"

"Every, boy." Frollo responded, with a leery grin. "If they are infecting the minds of the citizens, isn't it my right, my duty, to save their hearts? To destroy what is forcing my city into sin? And if you believe that what I think is 'sick'," He leaned closer to Sora; Sora stood his ground, and narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps you are one of them, and hoping I don't recognize?"

Never the type to be truly angry, Sora gritted his teeth. "I've never even heard of 'gypsies' before today! I don't even know what is so bad about them, but you're just being horrible, and killing them off for no good reason! That's what I think its 'sick', you psycho!"

Almost to his horror, Frollo let out a short laugh. "You know, I like your squire, Captain," he said, turning to face Phoebus. "He's very…vocal, something you don't normally see from a squire. In fact, you _never_ see it." He raised his eyebrow, and Phoebus nodded solemnly.

"My apologies, sir."

"No, no. No need for apologies." Frollo all but groaned when a soft fanfare flitted into the balcony. "Well, duty calls. Have either of you attended a peasant festival?"

"Not recently," Phoebus answered truthfully.

Frollo nodded again. "Ah, well, this should be quite the education. Come along." He then turned on his heel, and walked away.

Sora made to follow him, when Phoebus grabbed his shoulder. "Sora," he whispered urgently. "Are you _trying_ to get me fired? To get yourself killed?"

He turned around, scowling. "No!" he whispered back. "But how can you willing to work for a man who is so…so… horrible to an innocent group of people?!"

Phoebus paused his objections, almost as if he'd never thought about it before. Next thing Sora saw was Frollo glancing down to him. The brunet shook slightly, but stared up to Frollo.

"What…did you say your name was, squire?" Frollo question, raisin an eyebrow.

"Sora," he replied, his eyes narrowing. "Why, _sir_?"

"_Sora_, hm? Frollo smiled maliciously. "Well then, Phebous, Sora. Let us go to the festival."

Sora gulped, but eventually trudged behind both men as they headed down the stairs. He thought he heard Frollo mutter, "Never heard of gypsies…", but when he turned around, Frollo was no where near him.


	5. Never Was, Never Will Be

Why, hello there

A/N- ...Eheh...Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays, readers! Truth be told, this was done Dec 23rd, but my beta (coughs loudly) took a few days (obviously, being Christmas and all) and...so, I'm posting now. :D So, if you have bouts of DOOM, hurt her:D

But, really, I have been quite busy. I won NaNo (52,000+! ) and my teachers were like "lol, projects!" before break. That, and this was probably the largest and hardest chapter to write. But...hey. I hope you guys like it.

Chapter Five - Never Was, Never Will Be

Beta - **rainbowserenity**.

* * *

Sora's expression instantly turned into one of joy when he approached the festival. Loud, boisterous colors appeared in every direction, and it took Phoebus whispering down to his squire in order for the brunet not to get easily lost in the crowd. "Kid, you can't just go exploring, you know," he ordered, shaking his head when Sora gave him an innocently confused look. "We're patrolling. It's not like you can go freely about in this crowd. Besides..." he jerked his head in the direction of Frollo's carriage. "He would easily notice and gut you."

"My name's _Sora_," Sora mumbled, but nodded anyway and continued following after Phoebus's horse. As a "squire", he wasn't allowed a horse and had to walk like the other people in the military, but he was still sticking to Phoebus's idea to stay close to him.

When they finally reached the tent area and Frollo had exited his carriage and sat down onto his chair, he sent the Keybearer a strange look, in which Sora gave a violent shudder. "You alright?" Phoebus muttered over to him, turning his head to glance down at Sora.

Sora nodded, rubbing his arms to rid himself of goose bumps – even with a warm day like today, he still felt cold after Frollo's creepy look.

Letting out a soft sigh and leaning against the wood (which Phoebus sighed at, but Sora wasn't paying attention), the brunet frowned. Visiting other worlds had been so much easier with Goofy and Donald at his side. No one bothered the three of them …okay, yeah they did, but at least the three of them were strong enough to handle any problem by themselves.

Although, he could see King Mickey's reasoning –a dog and a duck would be a bit more noticeable walking through here than they would be in other worlds, such as The Underworld, where the undead were hopping up to join and help him fight (although Auron _was_ a strong warrior).

But, even so, why were they allowed in the Land of Dragons and not here? Shang hadn't noticed, and if he had, then he certainly hadn't cared.

Sora sighed and shook his head. If he wanted to make it through this world, he was going to have to find Riku, whether Phoebus could help him or not.

* * *

What had happened to the other Keybearer? Riku wasn't sure of it himself, as he was too busy trying to untangle a man who had become caught in the tent's dividing cloth, and fend off Djali with his other hand.

So much had happened in the past day (days? He wasn't sure), but what he did remember was when Esmeralda had returned from her trip (and commented on his hair; he had scowled and rolled his eyes in a playful manner), she was bubbling with excitement and goading him to be prepared for the Festival of Fools. When he tried to ask her about it, she only shook her head and continued to teach him a simple dance that they would be performing together.

…With him portraying a woman.

He gave a soft growl remembering such, but focused again at the task at hand when Esmeralda had finally wrapped herself up in a robe and hurried over to help the man out (he looked away from her, feeling almost like some perverted teen –was it his fault that they had given the two of them one tent because they were both "women?")

"Are you alright?" Esmeralda questioned, giving the man a warm smile. When Riku finally got a good look of the person stuck in the cloth, both he and Djali grimaced before he shook his head. Perhaps the man wasn't the best looking guy out there…

"I didn't mean to…I'm sorry…" The man attempted to apologize, lowering his gaze from both Riku and Esmeralda. Riku frowned at himself, almost ashamed. Okay, sure, the man was kinda creepy looking, but he at least seemed very kind.  
Feeling like he had to redeem himself, Riku leaned forward, helping to pull the cloth off the man. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no!" the man stuttered again, and pulled his face away. Riku blinked, almost believing that he saw something that resembled a _blush_ innocently crossing on the man's face. He shrugged to himself; Esmeralda was a very beautiful woman, and it wasn't like it could be for him.

Esmeralda gave the man another smile and brushed the hair out of his face. "No harm done. Just…" She gave a soft chuckle and stepped away. "Try to be a little more careful, alright?"

The man gave a stammered "Yes," before he almost tripped out of the tent. Before he could go, Esmeralda put a restraining hand on his shoulder and added one more comment.

"By the way, great mask!" Esmeralda exclaimed, smiling once more to the man and giving a slight wave as he stumbled out of the tent. Shaking her head, she turned to help Riku put the dividing cloth that separated the tent into two back up.

"I think you look very beautiful." Esmeralda grinned to Riku, her tone slightly mocking. Riku scowled and continued changing into his outfit – a pair of blue baggy pants (if one didn't look close enough, it could resemble a long skirt) and a tight black top. He lightly ran a hand over his braids and shook his head.

"Thanks, Esmeralda," he muttered, tucking a stray piece of his hair behind his ear. He wanted to look in a mirror to see how _horrible_ he looked, but lo and behold, the tent had no such thing and he had to make do. "I think the man was just looking at you though."

There was a light scoff and Esmeralda peeked through one side of the curtain. "Nope! You look _fine_, so stop fidgeting!" she ordered as Riku continued to tug on his hair. "You look very womanly and that's that."

"But that's the _problem_," Riku hissed to himself, shaking his head. The beads and ribbons in his hair clinked together and he let out another sigh.

_Sora…if you are in this world –which I hope you are, otherwise I'm beyond screwed – I hope you're nowhere near enough to see this…_

"Ah, Riku!" Esmeralda exclaimed, quickly rushing to the other side of the tent. "It's almost time to go! Are you ready?" Riku let out a defeated groan and nodded as the raven haired woman came over and patted his shoulder. "You'll do fine, I promise."

He shook his head and adjusted his sleeve length. "No…it's just… a friend of mine might be out in the audience, and…" He lowered his head. "I don't want him to see me like this."

She gave him another pat before adjusting the tiara that rested snugly in her hair. "Well, don't worry." Riku glanced up to her and she gave him a grin. "If he sees you, at least he'll probably agree that you're very pretty!"

Riku narrowed his eyes, but quickly shook his head and let out a chuckle. At least, even if he couldn't find Sora and was being forcibly dressed like a woman, someone still had the ability to make him laugh. "Well, let's put on a show!"

"Let's!" Esmeralda agreed, and she began to give him instructions of how they were going to get onto the stage.

* * *

Phoebus sighed and finally gave up on scolding the brunet. Sora was so entranced at what was going on during the festival that he seriously doubted that the boy could even hear him.  
Even though Sora was indeed having a good time watching the festival, he had a strange look on his face. _Was that Quasimodo?_ he asked himself before being forcibly snapped from his thoughts as the music took a different turn.

One of the gypsies, with such an interesting outfit that Sora thought him to be like a court jester, had begun to sing. Sora watched the man as he leapt from the stage to right on Frollo's platform, singing about "the finest women in France." Sora gave a small laugh to himself –if poor Riku was here, he's probably be forced to…

Suddenly, the jester man disappeared in a puff of smoke and a beautiful raven haired woman appeared on the stage, along with…

Sora's jaw dropped about three inches, and Phoebus raised his eyebrow –no, not at Sora! Seriously now, there were two beautiful women on the stage, why would he care about Sora?

_Riku!?_ Sora almost screamed aloud, but ...after the initial shock, it wasn't that easy to mistake him. And he _had_ found his friend again…

All he had to do was ignore the dancing his friend was doing. To anyone who didn't know better, it almost seemed like some sort of... Sora shook his head. He was _not_ going to think about Riku like that!

Frollo, apparently, was appalled as well. "Look at that disgusting display," he ordered, shaking his head.

Grinning, Phoebus lifted his helmet to see better. "Yes sir," he replied, the expression on his face almost matching the look of every man watching.

Sora wanted to put his head in his hands, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight. …Wait till Kairi heard about _this_.

* * *

At first, Riku didn't even notice Sora. He was too busy attempting to keep up with Esmeralda –almost mirroring her – and to remember the dance moves that he had been taught. Luckily, the gypsies said this happened only once a year and he wouldn't be on this world for a year. At first, he let himself simply dance to the music, enjoying himself. Heck, he even allowed a smile on his face and let his strangely decorated hair flow in the wind.

But when he opened his eyes and noticed an angry church official, a captain, and a young boy who looked quite out of place, he froze as though the boy's eyes had placed a sell on him. _Sora?!_ his mind screamed, but his face simply looked utterly shocked.

Luckily for him, Esmeralda had a plan in case poor Riku were to go into this type of stage fright –although it was for different reasons that she had first planned. She pulled a scarf out of nowhere (truthfully, a small pocket on the dress she was wearing, but most people couldn't see it), ran up to where Frollo was seated, and sat on the edge of the chair, smiling almost wickedly the entire time. She then playfully wrapped the scarf around his head, pulling him closer and closer until she pushed his head away at the last moment, and ran back to the stage.

She gave Riku a side glance, as if trying to ask him if he was alright, and when the silver haired teen nodded, she smiled and the dancing continued.

As Esmeralda went from doing a split to stealing a guard's spear to twirl on it (as they had practiced), Riku was doing simple dance moves. An idea struck him at the last moment and before the dance ended, he did a back flip, twirled around, and landed on his feet like the fighter he was.

They both gave a bow and Clopin continued singing/talking while Esmeralda hopped to her feet. "What happened?" she murmured under her breath, although it didn't look like she was even talking to him. He blinked and his eyes automatically went to where Sora was standing before he lowered his gaze.

"My friend is here," was all he said, but she easily understood it and continued clapping.  
"Well," she whispered back. "Let's finish this and then you'll be able to talk to him." Glancing over, she gave him a wink. "I'm sure he'll think you were pretty as well."

He flushed, but nodded his head –at the very least, it was a chance for the two friends of them to talk.

* * *

"You certainly have interesting friends." Sora glanced over to Phoebus as he looked back, giving the brunet by a smile. "The girl with the silver hair… she can't be a gypsy, and yet she deals with them. Hm… where she could be from, I wonder."

Sora coughed to himself. "Yeah, h—she was always a strange one where we lived." He then looked away, his eyes wide. Riku…how in the worlds did you get convinced to dress up like a girl? He gave a soft snicker, ignoring the thought that was continue to run through his mind: But he does look kinda… cute.

A loud thud alerted him and he glanced up, seeing people who were attempting to look scary being booted off the stage by the goat. When the woman (Sora then remembered that the jester guy had called her Esmeralda) reached the last person and went to pull of his mask, Sora's eyes widened. _That's Quasimodo!_ He was about to look over to Frollo when a loud gasp came from the audience.

"That's no mask!" one man exclaimed, pointing to Quasimodo in horror.

"That's his face!" a woman replied.

"It's hideous!" another woman cut in, covering her mouth in horror.

A final person stepped up, pointing accusatorily at him. "He's the bell ringer of Notre Dame!"

Sora was finally able to shoot a look over to Frollo - and the man looked very angry. Frollo had gripped the edges of the chair he was sitting on, while Quasimodo was looking down in shame. The jester shook his head and exclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic! We asked for the ugliest face in Paris, and here he is! Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame!"

Sora gave the man a horrified look and a glance to Riku showed him that they both thought the same way. Yeesh! What kind of society was this, that they were so cruel to people who weren't exactly the norm? …Speaking of which, what year was this, _anyway_?

While Sora had been pondering, the people of Paris had carried Quasimodo to the center of the square, singing and dancing. He gave a small smile –at least the man was enjoying his time now, even though Frollo would probably be horrible to him later. He turned to face Phoebus about to ask what would happen now, when one of the guards who had been pestering Phoebus smirked to his friend.

"You think he's ugly now? Watch this!" Sora's eyes widened (and twitched) as the guard threw a tomato at Quasimodo, hitting him square in the face. The other guards started laughing and continued throwing things at him; Sora's eyes widened still and he grabbed Phoebus's arm.

"What are they doing?" he exclaimed, tugging on it. "That's inhumane! Make them stop!"

Phoebus couldn't answer; he was too surprised at the fact that onlookers had begun tormenting poor Quasimodo, tying him down onto a platform, and the sheer fact that they were laughing about it and throwing more food at him…? "Sir, request permission to stop this cruelty."

Frollo shook his head, continuing to watch the scene with amusement. "In a moment, captain. A lesson needs to be learned here."

Sora glared up to him and was about to run up to the stand _himself_ when it suddenly grew quiet. Spinning around, he saw Esmeralda kneeling next to Quasimodo, Riku hovering behind her.

"Don't be afraid," she offered to him, brushing his face with her shawl. "I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen."

Frollo glared at her before standing up. "You! The two gypsy women! Get down at once!"

"Yes, your honor. Just as soon as I free this poor creature," she replied, nodding her head. His eyes flashed again.

"I forbid it!"

Riku, who was already sick of how this world was behaving, summoned his Keyblade and quickly cut through the ropes. A second later, he realized that it might have been a stupid mistake, seeing as the Keyblades were probably not _normal_ around here, but he still felt defiantly glad when he saw Frollo's face screw up in anger.

"How dare you defy me…" he hissed, pointing to the two of them.

Riku glared back, but it was Esmeralda who replied to him. "You mistreat him the same way you mistreat my people! You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help!"

"Silence!" Frollo exclaimed, pointing an old finger at her.

"Justice!" Esmeralda shouted back, glaring just as angrily.

Meanwhile, Sora and Riku had locked eyes, and they could almost communicate. Riku shook his head, running a hand through his silver hair, wondering why, out of all the unvisited worlds, did they have to go to one with such cruel people?

The next thing either realized was the crown that was placed on Quasimodo's head landed at Frollo's feet, and that Frollo instructing the guards to arrest Esmeralda. Phoebus began to do so, but Sora shook his head. "This is wrong! Why don't you stop it?"

Before the captain could reply, Esmeralda had disappeared into a puff of smoke, leading the guards on a wild goose chase that went throughout the crowds. It cause so much pandemonium, however, that Riku leaped from the stand, and attempted to push past the crowds who were rushing about in fear. "Sora!" he shouted, although he might as well have whispered it, seeing as Sora couldn't hear him anyway.

"Riku, just hang on!" Sora easily abandoned his post next to Phoebus and attempted to grab his friend, but just when he was five feet away, a guard plucked Riku off the ground and threw him over his shoulder.

Sora stopped short, his eyes wide, before he found his resolve and continued to rush the guard, summoning his Keyblade. "Let go of him!" he shouted, easily striking the man down and grabbing Riku's arm so he wouldn't stumble. "Come on!"

They attempted to rush through the crowds, when they were stopped by a wall of guards who were easily able to over take Sora. Frollo's voice pierced through the air and made Sora's blood run cold. "Find the gypsy woman, Captain! I want her alive!" As Phoebus went to carry out the task, Frollo walked over to Sora and patted his shoulder. "Good, squire. Now that we have one, the other will surely come back for her."

Sora could only let out a soft, "Riku" as his best friend was dragged away from him, more than likely to be put in the dungeon –or to death.


	6. Fallen Leaves

* * *

Why, hello there

A/N—Happy New Year! …Heck, Happy Chinese New Year as well! I can't believe I'm _this_ late. But the normal whining – Midterms were in January, and the month of February is going to be worse than hectic, so…here's an update. Hope you like it

Can't believe that this fic will be done in four chapters (after this one). If …if I finish it, it'll be my first completed chaptered story. It…makes me really happy.

Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter, and please review!

Chapter 6 – Fallen Leaves

Beta—**rainbowserenity**.

* * *

Riku had long given up on attempting breaking free of the prison in which he'd been locked in. After his first two escape attempts, the guards realized that Riku could use the Keyblade in order to free himself. Jerking on the ropes that bound his arms, he sighed before resting against the wall and closing his eyes.

What kind of sick world was this? Riku attempted to remember how he was able to summon for King Mickey's help in Castle Oblivion before sighing again. It wouldn't matter – if they were that iffy about a boy with a key and people who could, and would, fight being gypsies, he was sure that a talking mouse wouldn't regarded kindly either.

No wonder His Majesty hadn't wanted Goofy or Donald here –those two would've attracted a lot of unwanted attention.

Giving up the hope that the guards were eventually going to leave (after his second escape attempt, they'd wizened up and placed guards at his cell), Riku glanced up to the window with a sad smile. Esmeralda had said that she would be able to help him no matter what, but where was she? Who knew where, while he was stuck in a jail cell, set to die at sunrise. And Sora…

"Sora…" Riku repeated aloud and softly to himself before resting his head on his tucked in knees. The brunet had tried to save him, but ended up dooming them both. All he now wanted to do was break out, grab Sora, find the Gummi Ship, and escape this hellish world.

"Shut up, you!" one of the guards shouted to him. Riku glared at the man before jerking at his restraints, and the man jumped a bit.

"Don't provoke it," the second guard instructed, causing Riku's glare to intensity tenfold. _It_?! His mind screamed, but he kept silent. "See its strange hair? Normal people can't have that – it's the gypsy magic. Annoy it too much and it'll attack us." Turning to face Riku, the man gave a malicious smile. "She'll die at sunrise, anyway."

Riku's glare died down and he rested his head against the cold stone of the walls. _Sora… help…_ Riku didn't want to plead, but he was becoming more worried as time passed.

* * *

On the other hand, Sora was currently narrowing his eyes, standing beside Djali as Esmeralda and Phoebus continued talking. She was obviously infatuated with him; and Phoebus, her. Great –Sora had things to do, places to be. Could they just shut up for five minutes?

"Good work captain!" Sora groaned and buried his face in his hands. Great. Not another distraction …and not just any distraction. Frollo smiled before Phoebus and Esmeralda began to argue back and forth about how Esmeralda had to plead Sanctuary in order to stay alive.

After the Archdeacon had appeared out of nowhere, and forced Frollo to leave the church and not pursue people into God's palace, Sora quickly tugged on Esmeralda's sleeve. She blinked before giving a smile. "I know you… you're friends with Riku, aren't you?"

"The girl?" Phoebus asked before Djali butted his head into Phoebus's chest. "Alright, alright! I'm going, I'm going!" he shouted, heading for the door.

Sora nodded at her, before replying quietly, so no guards could overhear him. "Yeah, and he's been taken away. The word is from some of the guards… they're going to kill him tomorrow morning. I…I can't help him…" Sora lowered his head and exhaled. "But can you? Please? You know your way around better than I do!"

She gave him a grim smile before patting his shoulder. "I can't. I'm locked up in here, just as tight as Riku would be, down in the dungeon. But…" Glancing to her left and right, she leaned down to his ear and whispered, "If I _can_ escape, I'll save him. He'll be in the Court of Miracles."

Sora pulled away, about to repeat what she just said to confirm, but Esmeralda quickly put a finger to his lips. He grinned in response and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you… thanks so much!"

Chuckling, she patted his back before lightly shoving him towards the door. He nodded and headed to where Phoebus had exited, only to feel the hair on his neck rise. Without thinking about it, he summoned his Keyblade and rushed back to where Esmeralda had spoken to him, only to cringe at the sight of Frollo holding Esmeralda. "Let her go." He glared at the man who was currently smelling Esmeralda's hair.

Frollo pulled back with a malicious smile. "Ah, the squire of Phoebus, wasn't it?"

"Get off of me," Esmeralda hissed, pulling away from Frollo, feeling generally disgusted.

Sora stood in front of her, pointing the Keyblade at Frollo's chest. "What were you even _doing_?" he questioned, his eye twitching.

The man leaned forward and placed a hand on Esmeralda's neck. With almost a shriek, she jumped away, and Sora's grip tightened. "Why, I was just imagining a rope around that beautiful neck."

"I know what you were _imagining_!" she hissed, clenching her fists.

Frollo gave a mirthless chuckle. "Such a clever witch. So typical of your kind to twist the truth and cloud it with unholy thoughts." Turning his back to both Sora and Esmeralda, he said, "You've chosen a magnificent prison, but it is a prison nonetheless. If you step outside…even if to save someone…" Frollo directed this part of the statement at Sora, who gulped quietly. No matter how well he could fight, it would be worthless if he was thrown in jail. "One foot outside and you're mine."

About to move to Esmeralda's side to apologize in some form, Sora realized that Frollo was staring over at him. "Won't Phoebus be curious as to what this _knave_, who uses such a curious looking weapon, is doing conversing with gypsies?" he questioned softly before heading to the door.

Sora gave Esmeralda a helpless look, in which she simply responded with a nod, and he ran to the door, formulating a plan as he went along.

* * *

"You _have_ to tell me!" Sora exclaimed, tugging on Phoebus's arm. Phoebus raised his eyebrow and gently removed Sora.

"I don't really have to do anything, you know." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Frollo's going to have us up all night watching the doors. Knowing Esmeralda, she's not going to leave…not without some sort of plan."

Sora shook his head. "_Please_, Phoebus! Tell me where the dungeons are!" Phoebus opened his mouth to refuse again, but Sora simply continued. "Riku's my best friend; don't make me watch him _die_!"

Phoebus exhaled deeply and didn't say a word for about a minute. Sora scowled before turning his back. "If you're not going to help me…"

"Kid, I didn't say that," Phoebus interjected, grabbing Sora's shoulder. Leaning down to whisper into Sora's ear, he quickly hissed out instructions. "And," he added, once he was done. "I have told you_nothing_, am I clear?"

Sora nodded before giving Phoebus a quick hug, which the blond raised his eyebrow at. "Thank you...thank you so much."

"Be back _before_ midnight!" Phoebus shouted to Sora's back as the brunet ran in said direction.

A guard raised his eyebrow at Phoebus before asking, "Where are you sending him?" As Phoebus turned, he quickly formulated a lie and spoke it with authority.

"I sent my squire off to check the other side of the cathedral. I didn't think I would be questioned about something so trivial, being a captain." The guard quickly saluted him and moved away. Phoebus turned to watch as Sora rounded a corner and sighed.

_Good luck, kid,_ he thought with a grim smile.

* * *

Sora quickly arrived to where he needed to be, surprised that the sun had appeared again, causing the rain to disappear. He smiled up to the sunset before quickly entering the dungeon. A quick salute and information that he was _Captain_ Phoebus's squire allowed him easy access into the dungeons. When he finally arrived to Riku's cell, he had to fight the grin off his face at the sight of his best friend and told those guards the same as what he told the others.

The first guard nodded and began to move, but the other one, who seemed older and wiser, did not budge an inch. Sora frowned. "I said I'm Captain Phoe—" he began, but the guard cut him off with a harsh glare.

"I know who you say you are. Frollo's given us instructions to not let _anyone_ speak to the gypsy," he stated, not budging an inch.

Sora resisted the urge to tear his hair out in frustration, before an idea popped into his head. "Captain Phoebus…believes that I can persuade the gypsy to …tell us where the Court of Miracles is."

At this, even the second guard moved. "Alright –you have ten minutes," he ordered, pushing past Sora to walk through the door. The other guard quickly followed after him and shut the door.

Sora waited a moment before grabbing the keys off the hook on the wall, unlatching the door, and running into the cell, wrapping his arms around Riku. "I thought I'd never see you again!" he exclaimed, resting his head against Riku's shoulder.

Riku sighed and closed his eyes. _Same old Sora_, he thought with a smile. "Can you…?" he began, nodding to his binds. Sora quickly began working at the ropes and Riku frowned. "We have to get out of this world –we're going to die if we stay here."

As Sora finished untying them, Riku brought his hands to his front, and after clenching his fists, summoned his Keyblade. "Great…" He grinned to himself, before dispersing the weapon again.

Sora stayed sitting on the ground. "But… we have to help them!" Riku glanced back down to the brunet, who tried speaking again. "We have to help the gypsies and defeat Frollo!"

Kneeling down next to Sora, Riku grabbed Sora's face. "Sora…I know you want to help, but it's either we die to save them or we live and head home. They already have me marked for death, and knowing your righteous ways, you _have_ to have angered Frollo somehow…"

"But that's what King Mickey sent us here for!" Sora retorted, shaking Riku's hands off his face. "He wants us to protect the people of this world. And we'll be okay –we're Keybearers."

Riku lowered his head with a sigh. "I just don't want to see you hurt, Sora!" Riku exclaimed under his breath. Sora blinked, not hearing him well, and asked him to repeat it.

"Yes, I would like to hear it too." Sora jumped, and Riku cursed under his breath before both boys looked up to see Frollo staring at them from the other side of the cell door. "Is there some reason, 'squire', that you're over there? Didn't I give specific instructions that all guards, save for the ones watching prisoners, to be at the cathedral?"

Sora bit his lip and glanced back to Riku, who mouthed _"Play along"_ before slapping Sora across the face. Sora leapt to his feet before staring down at Riku in open mouthed awe.

Riku was glaring up to Sora, clenching his fists. "I will _not_ tell you how to get to the Court of Miracles, you fool!" he exclaimed, bringing his voice up a few octaves to match the part he was supposed to be. Sora quickly understood and narrowed his eyes.

Frollo completely forgot about what he had been discussing beforehand and gripped the bars of the cage tighter. "Has she given any clues?" he asked, curiosity taking the better of him. Sora shook his head, and Frollo nodded. "Very well. I'm sure the whip will be efficient for her."

"No!" Sora exclaimed, internally slapping himself as he realized what he just said.

"No?" Frollo repeated, growing suspicious.

Sora said nothing for a minute as he formulated an idea. "H—erm, she wouldn't give us any information if she knew she would be beaten for it!" he offered, his face grim.

"Yes…" Frollo nodded, moving away from the bars. "I underestimated you, squire. You'll go back to Phoebus and inform him of what you have learned. The guards will get the girl to talk." He turned, and stormed out of the dungeon, leaving a few guards behind.

Before anyone could do anything else, another guard ran into the dungeon, his eyes wild. "Sir!" he exclaimed, looking nervous. "The gypsy! We've looked all around the cathedral and no one can find her!"

The guard who had refused to let Sora into Riku's cell at first turned to face the newcomer, and his eyes widened. "Look again!" he exclaimed, throwing the keys to the cell to another guard before hurrying out of the dungeon. Before he exited completely, he turned back to Riku, his eyes narrowing. "You will tell us something, girl, if you wish to live to see tomorrow."

Riku simply scowled at the guards as they ran out, not wanting to jeopardize his 'role' anymore by speaking. "Now what…?" he asked softly to Sora, once everyone had run off.

"I'll save you!" Both boys turned to the window, seeing Esmeralda's smiling face in it. "Quasimodo helped me escape and sent me over here. Apparently, you two are friends…?" she asked to Sora, who grinned. Good ol' Quasi. "Anyway, come on, Riku! The guards are furious, and we have to disappear!"

Riku nodded before turning back to Sora. "I…" he started, but Sora quickly cut him off.

"We'll see each other again. I promise!" He grinned. Riku sighed and gave Sora a quick smile before leaping to the window, grabbing Esmeralda's arm, and disappearing into the night.

The smile fell off of Sora's face almost as soon as Riku disappeared. Riku was right, but it didn't matter anyway. They would never get to go home, not with the people of this world acting this way! Not when the world was this horrible...

He quickly ran out of the dungeon, hoping that he would be able to save Riku, and himself, soon enough.

* * *

The next morning, Phoebus had to drag Sora out of bed and practically carry him down to the square. "Didn't I say don't be out later than midnight?" he questioned, sighing.

Sora gave a childish yawn before shrugging. "I know!" he responded, rubbing his eyes. "I was forced to join the search for Esmeralda…"

Phoebus's grip on his arm tightened. "Is she alright?" he asked, but they both quieted instantly when Frollo's carriage arrived. He moved away from Sora, called the guards to attention, and looked up to the carriage. "Morning, sir."

Sora winced at Frollo's exhausted face – the man looked as if he's stayed up way past midnight. In fact, it didn't seem like the man slept at all.

Phoebus blinked. "Are you feeling all right?"

Frollo waved it off. "I…had a little trouble with the fireplace."

"I see…" Phoebus responded, nodding. "Your orders, sir?"

Frollo's tired image faded away as his eyes narrowed and his resolve sharpened. "Find the gypsy girls."

As Phoebus nodded, and shouted orders to the soldiers, Sora's stomach dropped. His bad day was becoming worse with each passing moment.


	7. Oranges

****

A/N

**Well, well, well. How have you guys been? …Yes, it has been two months, which I apologize. :D Sorry! (insert whining about life, school, and tests. Whine whine whine.) I guess I should have tried updating over Spring Break, but I was busy writing other fics. :D**

Anyway, hope you like this (I know I do), and think about it – we're only THREE chapters away from the ending. My first completed story… Wow. Only three more chapters of me babbling.

Anyway…again, hope you enjoy, and please review! :D

* * *

After a while, Sora stopped walking and covered his face with his hands. "I can't go anymore," he muttered softly, glad when no horse accidently kicked him when he stood still. "Phoebus, I can't _do_ this anymore!"

Phoebus glanced backwards before giving a soft sigh and turning his horse back to Sora. When he approached, Sora glanced up, his fists clenched and his eyes angry. Phoebus didn't respond and just stared ahead to the house their fellow troops were heading towards. "Sora, I have a duty. If you want to stay behind…"

"You can't say that arresting innocent people is for your _duty!_" Sora exclaimed. "And you know it isn't!"

"Well, what do you want me to do then?" Phoebus shot back before giving a sigh. He covered his face with his hand and sighed again. "This is my _job_. If I go against his wishes, then I'll be arrested for insubordination." Phoebus finally looked down at Sora, shaking his head. "I know it's wrong, but…"

Sora shook his head and stared up at Phoebus. "If you were strong enough, you would do what you knew what was right."

Staying quiet, Phoebus offered a hand down to Sora, who, after glancing to the rest of the troops who had marched quite some distance away, grabbed his hand and climbed onto the horse as well. As they approached the house with the windmill, Sora could have sworn he heard Phoebus mutter, "Right, huh?"

When they arrived, they saw that two guards were posted outside of the door. Sora quickly hopped off and rushed into the house as Phoebus continued to take care of the horse.

"Our home is always open to the weary traveler," was the first thing Sora heard when he entered. The man, with his family of three behind him, was on the ground, kneeling to Frollo. "Have mercy, my lord."

To Sora's disgust, Frollo jerked his cloak away from the man and turned up his nose. "I am placing you and your family under house arrest until I get to the bottom of this. If what you say is true, you are innocent and have nothing to fear."

The man's eyes widened and he quickly climbed to his feet. "But we are innocent, I assure you!"

When Frollo continued to ignore the man, Sora narrowed his eyes and grabbed one of his sleeves. "Hey, did you hear him!?" he exclaimed, pointing back to the man in question. "He _said_ he's innocent, he _sounds_ innocent… You're just a jerk! You can't arrest this man!"

Frollo's eyes flashed and a pair of guards suddenly appeared on either side of Sora, grabbing his arms and holding him still. "You know, _squire_," Frollo said, ignoring the fact that Sora was attempting to struggle out of their grip. "You've been against this gypsy extermination from the very beginning. I'm beginning to wonder if you have connections with them…"

"I am and I don't!" Sora shouted, wondering if he should unveil the Keyblade. "But even so, your sick, twisted ways of evil are nothing to follow! You're the cruelest thing on this world!"

He cringed as the guards' grip tightened; Frollo simply waved his arm, and they dropped him. Sora rubbed his arms, attempting to bring life back into them as Frollo leaned next to him. "Boy, you have no idea who you are dealing with," he muttered, his voice strangely calm, considering what Sora had just accused him of. "You're going to _die_ here, along with these fools who are concealing the gypsies. And…" He pulled back, a malicious grin on his face. "When we capture them, I'll make sure to let the pretty, silver haired girl know exactly what happened to you."

Sora's eyes widened, and he was about to lunge at Frollo when one of the guards shoved him backwards, slamming him against a table. Sora's head connected with the edge of the table, and the next thing he knew, his world went black.

* * *

When Frollo slammed the door shut, he gestured to one of the guards, who handed him a pole which he locked the door with. Another guard handed him a torch, which he turned to Phoebus. "Burn it," he ordered, attempting to hand him the torch.

"What?!" Phoebus's eyes grew wide before attempting to glance in through the windows. "The boy, Sora. He's inside, isn't he? I can't _burn_ it!"

Frollo's eyes were calm, trained…cruel. "Until it smolders, these people are traitors and must be made example of." He forced the torch into Phoebus's hand. "All of them."

"With all due respect, _sir_," Phoebus all but spat, "I was not trained to _murder_ the innocent."

Frollo climbed onto his horse, before looking down at Phoebus. "But you were trained to follow orders."

Phoebus looked at the torch he was holding and thought back to Sora's words. _I can't murder these people,_ he thought as he began to approach a barrel of rainwater that sat outside the house. _And I refuse to set anything alight, knowing that the kid is inside._

Eyes widening, Frollo's glare intensified as Phoebus stuck the torch into the barrel. "Insolent coward."

Phoebus gave the beginnings of a smirk.

Grabbing another torch from another guard, Frollo held it up to the windmill, which quickly caught alight. The house, being attached to said windmill, caught fire instantly, and the screams from inside became excruciatingly loud. Phoebus didn't even register what he was doing jumped through the window and approached the family, who looked grateful to see him. He grabbed the two children from where they placed, and the father of the two picked up Sora's limp form. Phoebus kicked down the door of the house, and they all ran outside just before it caved in.

Phoebus breathed deeply, the realization of what he'd just done going through his head as he gave the children off to their mother and the father handed him Sora. Before he could analyze what had happened, a guard struck Phoebus over the head with the handle of his sword, and both tumbled to the ground.

Frollo approached, his boot about to step on Sora's head, and Phoebus's eyes swam in and out of focus. "The sentence for insubordination is death. Such a pity…" He frowned in a mocking way down to Phoebus. "You threw away such a promising career."

Mustering as much as a smile as he could, Phoebus looked up at Frollo. "Consider it my highest honor, sir."

Nodding his head, Frollo moved away from the two of them. Phoebus began to scan throughout the crowd, wondering if this was going to be his final vision in life when he heard something softly whiz by. He knew the guard who about to chop his head off had to be in mid-swing when a rock suddenly hit Frollo's horse and the creature reared up, surprising the guards and throwing an equally surprised Frollo off.

Phoebus quickly pulled away from the guards that held him down, grabbed Sora, all but threw the kid's limp body onto the crazed horse, and climbed on himself before nudging its sides and forcing the horse into a gallop. A smile spread across his face at what he was doing, but he made sure to keep one hand tight on the reins and one tight on Sora to prevent them from falling off.

Before he could register it, an arrow pierced his side. The hand that was holding the reins quickly went to clutch at his side in pain, and he, along with Sora, tumbled over the side of the bridge and into the murky water of the river.

* * *

After what she had seen, Esmeralda was certainly glad that Riku had decided to come along with her while scavenging the town. At first, she assumed that he would stick out, but a simple cloth to cover his head made it easier to disguise the boy. It was due to his sharp eyesight that alerted them both to the fact that Sora had been locked inside the burning house, and he was the one who pointed out which horse was Frollo's. What would have been an easy task for her was a little more difficult, seeing as they had to stay far away, lest they be caught by the guards. And for his help, she was very glad he was there.

But right now, as she held him by his waist to hold him back, her feet digging into the soil, she half wished that he'd stayed behind.

"I'm going to _kill_ that Frollo!" he hissed, his mind torn between running up to the top of the bridge and showing the man what a Keyblade could do, and saving Sora from the depths of the river.

Esmeralda kept a firm grip on his waist; when the guards looked down the side of the bridge, she quickly covered his mouth and pressed both of them against the stone backing.

"Don't waste your arrows. Let the traitor rot in his watery grave!" Riku stopped fidgeting when he heard Frollo's cruel voice. "Find the girl. If you have to burn this city to the _ground_, so be it."

When the stomping of men's feet and the clomping of horses' hooves finally disappeared, Riku broke from Esmeralda's grasp and dove into the water headfirst. Internally thanking his swimming skills he acquired from living on an island all his life, he dove deeper and deeper until he saw a glimpse of silver, and grabbed it. He quickly swam to the surface and gasped for fresh air, glancing over and making sure that the person he was holding was Sora – it was the silver glint from his crown necklace that had reveled itself while he was underwater.

Noting his friend's condition, he hurried to the shore and began stripping him of his heavier clothes. A part of his mind almost smirked at what he was doing, but he easily shook it off, realizing that with all these heavy, useless clothes on, Sora could catch a fever. Besides, of course, the fact that Sora wasn't waking up anyway.

Esmeralda looked over to him as she laid Phoebus onto the grassy shore. "We need to get them somewhere safe," Riku muttered to her as he leaded his head onto Sora's stomach. The boy was breathing, he confirmed, but lightly.

She nodded and brushed a piece of Phoebus's hair out of his face. He, on the other hand, looked as though he was slipping in and out of consciousness. "Yes, but we can't take them back to the Court of Miracles now… Frollo's men might follow us."

Riku bit lip him, mind racing as he attempted to think of places. How would _he_ know?! He wasn't from around here? Sora didn't know anyone here either…

Except…

"That bell ringer!" he exclaimed, before wincing and looking around. Alright – no one there. "Quasimodo, I think. You met him, right?"

Esmeralda nodded slowly, as what Riku was said sunk into her head. She gave a glance down to Phoebus before hefting him over her shoulder. Riku did the same with Sora, and looked up at her. "We better hurry; I know a gypsy who could help us grab some supplies for these two, but we must be quick!" After saying which, she took off almost silently. Riku blinked in surprise – Phoebus did not look light, for one – before running after her as well.

_Sora… Wake up soon…!_

_

* * *

_Quasimodo heard a light knocking on the door, and he turned as Esmeralda stepped inside, a smile on her face. Quasimodo's face lit up at the sight of her. "Esmeralda! You're all right! I knew you'd come back."

She smiled and gave him a tight hug. "You've done so much for me already, my friend, but I must ask your help one more time."

When he quickly nodded, she turned back to the door; another gypsy was currently carrying the unconscious body of Phoebus and Riku had Sora in his arms. Quasimodo's eyes widened as he gestured they both to bring the bodies to his bed.

As Phoebus came to consciousness and began to be healed by Esmeralda, Riku turned his back to the others and looked down to Sora. His friend still hadn't moved from where he'd laid him, so Riku, after quickly looking over his shoulder, pulled a potion out of his pants pocket and force fed it to Sora.

A coughing stutter brought the brunet back and when his eyes connected with Riku's, Riku gave a sigh in relief and hugged Sora tightly. "Wow…" Sora began, patting Riku's back. "What…what happened?"

"What happened?" Riku echoed, pulling back and looking Sora in the eyes. "I have no idea. Esmeralda and I picked you guys up from the river. I guess you needed some help…?" He meant it as a joke, but from being so worried about Sora, his voice came out cracked, and he gave a small wince. He lowered his head onto Sora's shoulder and closed his eyes. "You idiot… what happened?"

Sora smiled and leaned against Riku. "Well… I insulted Frollo…" Riku snorted softly at that one, "And then one of his guards shoved me back into the man's house, and I …" He winced and reached to the back of his head before wincing again. "Ow. I guess I hit my head against something, 'cause I don't remember anything after that."

"Sora…" Riku groaned before sighing and looking into his eyes. "You should have been careful. Frollo is a dangerously creepy man."

"I know…" He grinned before rubbing the back of his head again, wincing for a third time.

Riku frowned and looked away from Sora. After this adventure (if they lived through it, that is), they'd all go home and Sora would end up with Kairi, while Riku would cheer for them on the side. At least, in theory, that was how it was supposed to go. But Riku really didn't want to have to see that and he wanted Sora to at least know how he felt, especially since they could die at any given moment.

"Sora…" he began, glancing up to the brunet, but his attention was elsewhere. More especially, on the couple right behind Riku, attentively making out as Quasimodo stared in horror. Oh, well, that was one love triangle he didn't want to break into.

Before he could say anything else, the goat, Djali, gave a bleat, and Quasimodo rushed to the window. His eyes widened and he turned back to the four of them. "Frollo's coming. You two must leave now!" He opened the door, pointing down a stairwell. "Go down the south tower steps."

Esmeralda began saying her goodbyes to Quasimodo, but Riku refused to move. They had _just_ been reunited! How could they possibly be forced apart _now_? "I'll stay behind," he mumbled softly.

Sora and Esmeralda looked at him as though he was crazy. "No, you can't!" Sora exclaimed, shoving Riku away from him. He hadn't meant for it to be cruel; he just kept remembering Frollo's taunt, and really did not want it carried out. "Leave! We'll meet soon, don't worry."

"I…" Riku began, only to be grabbed by the third gypsy and hefted into the air. Esmeralda gave the man a nod, and they quickly ran out of the room.

"Quick, hide!" Quasimodo whispered to Sora, as he grabbed Phoebus's arms. After a quick glance around the room, Sora dove under the table, only to be squished by Phoebus's body moments later.

And not a second too soon; moments after Phoebus disappeared out of sight, Frollo's footsteps stopped and Quasimodo spoke, "Oh, master, I didn't think you'd be coming."

Sora gave a soft gasp and held onto Phoebus, hoping that they both stayed out of sight.

* * *

Frollo's echoing words stayed with Sora as he and Phoebus emerged from other the table.

"_I know where her hideout is, and tomorrow, at dawn, I'll attack with a thousand men._"

He couldn't really…know where The Court of Miracles was, could he? He wouldn't attack, would he? That couldn't happen! Esmeralda…Riku… Sora bit his lip, before he glanced up to Phoebus and Quasimodo, both who were glaring at each other.

"Fine, stay here," Phoebus scowled, his right arm clutching his wounded left. "I'm not going to stay here and let Frollo massacre innocent people." He gave a look at Sora before heading down the tower steps.

Sora looked up to Quasimodo, who gave him a dark look. "Look! Esmeralda already has her hero, and it's not me," he mumbled, crossing his arms and looking away.

His eyes became downcast, and he gave a pleading look to Quasimodo. "My best friend is down there. Please…if you can help me save him…"

Quasimodo made to glare up to Sora, but one look made his expression change from anger to pity. After a few more seconds, he groaned and grabbed his cape. "Come on."

Sora grinned and rushed out of the room, the last thing he heard before he began descending down the steps was, "I must be out of my mind."

* * *


	8. Harvest

Author's Note -- hi guys! :D Sorry about taking, what two months? Again? Hee. Sorry about that. Buuut schools out, and updates might come faster. Hopefully. Especially seeing how this story's birthday is coming up, and I kinda want the story done by then!

Anyway, TWO more chapters. I think I'm more excited about this than anyone else is. I'm so lazy, but a finished story, so close in my grasp!? Really now? Awetastic!

Hee.

Anyway, thank you **rainbowserenity** for betaing!

Chapter 8 - Harvest

* * *

Phoebus pushed through the church's door, shaking his head at Quasimodo's stubbornness. He'd thought that at least Sora would want to save his friend…

"Boo!" Sora grinned as Quasimodo dropped them both in front of the door. Phoebus clutched at his chest, shaking his head.

"Thanks for the surprise," he mumbled before looking over to Quasimodo. "Decided to come, huh?"

Quasimodo narrowed his eyes and drew his cloak around him tighter. "I didn't do it for you. I'm doing it for her and him." He nodded his head over to Sora, who grinned in retribution.

Phoebus glanced over to Sora before shaking his head. "Of course. Do either of you have any idea how to get there?"

"If we run around long enough, we'll find it," Sora commented with a smile. Phoebus and Quasimodo exchanged glances and he shrugged. "Hey, it worked on every other world!"

Reaching for his necklace, Quasimodo pulled it out and showed it to Phoebus. "No, but she said this would let us find her."

Phoebus nodded eagerly before grabbing the necklace and inspecting it. "Great! Great! …What is it?" He turned it around, raising his eyebrow.

"Looks like a map," Sora offered, but Phoebus shook his head.

"No… no, it must be some kind of code. Maybe it's Ancient Greek?"

Quasimodo snatched the necklace out of Phoebus's hands and nodded. "No, Sora's right. It's a map."

Phoebus narrowed his eyes. "I never seen a _map_ like that!"

As the two began to bicker about whether it was a map or not, Sora sighed, wishing he had Donald with him. Donald, at least, could shock these two into getting along.

Or something like that.

"Alright!" Phoebus's tone was agitated, and Sora began to listen again. "If you two say it's a map, it's a map. If we're going to find them, we all have to work together. …Truce?" He lightly patted Quasimodo on the back and offered a smile to Sora.

Quasimodo shrugged. "Ah, truce." He slapped Phoebus on the back as well, causing Phoebus to wince. "Sorry."

Walking past Phoebus, Quasimodo offered Sora a wink. Phoebus scowled at Quasimodo's back. "No, you're not."

* * *

After an hour of slipping through the city, Phoebus, Sora, and Quasimodo stood in a graveyard, staring down at a grave. "Now what?" Sora asked, frowning down at it. He'd already tried the Keyblade, but it wasn't _technically_ locked, so it didn't work.

Phoebus waved the torch at the grave. "I think I can see an inscription here… Sora, hold the torch. I'll try to translate it…"

Quasimodo shook his head and shoved the lid off of the grave. Sora glanced down, noting a stairwell. "That works."

Both Quasimodo and Sora glanced up to Phoebus, who rolled his eyes. "Fine, _fine_, I'll go first."

"You have the torch, after all," Quasimodo mumbled as Phoebus slowly began descending down the steps. Sora let his Keyblade disappear and quickly followed after them.

"Ugh… this can't be the Court of Miracles," Sora groaned as the three of them slogged through the waste that filled the hall-like area. "Maybe that map was wrong."

Quasimodo shook his head. "No, no. Esmeralda said it would lead us to her, and I trust her. This has to be it."

Shaking his head and stepping lightly, Phoebus commented, "I'd say, offhand, that this is the Court of Ankle Deep Sewage." He gave a laugh before glancing back at Sora. "Doesn't this place make you love Paris all the more?"

Grinning in response, Sora shook his head. "Between Frollo and this, I'm thinking that I want to go home." _Alive and with Riku would also be a plus,_ he mused, jumping over a pile of bones. Yuck, when was the last time this place had been cleaned?!

"Let's hurry," Quasimodo mumbled, not even bothering to look disgusted. "I just want to warn Esmeralda and get back to the bell tower before I get into any more trouble."

Phoebus stopped, looking around. "Speaking of trouble, we should've run into some by now."

Sora continued on. "What do you mean?"

"You know, a guard, a booby trap…"

A strong gust of wind flew through the tunnel, killing the torch's flame. Phoebus's voice continued. "Or an ambush."

Suddenly, dozens of men dressed like skeletons with torches appeared on the walls above the three of them. Sora attempted to summon his Keyblade, but the men jumped and surrounded him before he could do a thing. Glancing back and noting that Quasimodo and Phoebus were surrounded as well, Sora mumbled "Blizzaga!" at the men, freezing one man's torch and arm. The man dropped the torch and shouted to the others, "Gag this one first!"

Sora's eyes widened and he attempted to struggle against them, but after his arms were bound behind his back and a gag tied around his mouth, there wasn't much he could do. Looking over to Quasimodo and Phoebus, he saw that both of them were tied up and glaring up to…

Wait. Wasn't that the jester from the Festival of Fools? Without his cheerful garb, he looked menacing, even more so with the light of the torches flickering onto his face.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" the jester asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Trespassers!" one of the skeletons behind Phoebus and Quasimodo shouted.

"Spies!" one holding Sora down added.

Phoebus quickly shook his head. "We're not spies—" Before he could add anything, he was gagged and tied up.

Quasimodo attempted to add, "Can't you listen to –" but he was also gagged.

The jester glared down at the two of them and then sent a cruel look over to Sora. "_Don't_ interrupt me! You're very clever to have found our hideaway…" With a grin, he beckoned the skeletons to carry the three of them farther down the passageway. "Unfortunately, you won't live to tell the tale."

* * *

"Gather around everyone!" Riku glanced up from his card game to see Clopin standing on the platform, laughing and tugging at the nooses. "We have a triple header!"

Esmeralda's goat, Djali, began going crazy and sprinted to the front of the crowd. "Djali!" Riku shouted, abandoning his card game to catch up to the goat. "Wait up!"

"And not just any three – Frollo's spies! We have the captain of the guard…" Boos came from the crowd and Riku glanced up. Once he recognized the man – he thought he'd heard Esmeralda call him Phoebus – he quickly noticed to two others at his side. "His loyal bell ringing henchman and his trusty squire who will never leave his side…even in death!" Clopin laughed loudly as the rest of the crowd continued to boo the three.

"Oh…crap," Riku's eyes widened as he easily recognized Sora. The brunet looked as though he wanted to summon his Keyblade and get them out of there, but since his hands were bound, it wouldn't do him much help. Djali tugged at his leg, and together they quickly sprinted out of the crowd to find Esmeralda.

* * *

After making sure everything was set, the jester smiled and glanced over to the three. "Any last words?"

Phoebus shouted something beneath his gag that sounded quite vile, and Quasimodo simply tried to break from the ropes. The jester grinned and shrugged. "That's what they all say!"

Sora, meanwhile, was trying to figure out a plan. He could summon his Keyblade, but it would drop onto the ground due to his hands being tied so closely together. If he could move the gag, maybe he could burn off the ropes and get them out of here…

Granted, that would hurt, but that what potions were for, right?

"We find you _totally_ innocent," the jester began to sing, and Sora's eyes widened as he stopped fighting for a moment. "Which is the _worst_ crime of all…"

As the jester smiled and headed back over to the lever, Sora gulped and quickly began working on the ropes. He didn't want to die on this world! He had so much more to live for! He want supposed to go to college and get married and…

_Riku…_

"So you're going to hang!" The jester began to pull the lever and Sora's breathing stopped, and he could've sworn that the floor was disappearing beneath his feet…

"STOP!"

The jester jumped, but didn't pull the lever all the way, and glanced down to the ground, where Esmeralda, Riku, and Djali stepped to the front of the crowd. Riku looked out of breath, but still gave a shaky grin up to Sora.

"Esmeralda!" Quasimodo and Phoebus shouted beneath their gags. Riku shoved past the guards blocking the entry onto the platform and began untying Sora as quickly as he could.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, his fingers fumbling on the knots. "I ran to get her as soon as I could…"

Once Sora was free, he gave Riku a tight squeeze. "I was afraid I would never see you again!"

Riku smiled, but then moved over to help Esmeralda untie Phoebus and Quasimodo. As Esmeralda was untying Phoebus, she shook her head at the jester. "Clopin, these aren't spies! They're our friends!"

Clopin raised his eyebrow. "Well, _why_ didn't they say so?"

Phoebus glared over to him. "We _did_ say so!"

Shaking her head and removing the noose from Quasimodo, Esmeralda continued. "He is the soldier that saved the miller's family," she began, pointing at Phoebus. "And Quasimodo helped me escape from Notre Dame," she continued, pointing to Quasimodo.

"And Sora helped me escape from Frollo's clutches!" Riku added in, glaring over to Clopin, who gave an innocent shrug.

Phoebus stepped to the front of the platform. "We came to warn you people! Frollo's coming!"

As the gathered crowd began to whisper amongst themselves from fear, Sora added, "He's attacking at dawn with a thousand men!"

As if that phrase lit a fire beneath the crowd, they dispersed, and everyone began packing up their items to flee from the Court. Esmeralda shook her head and glanced over to Phoebus. "You three took a terrible risk coming here." Hugging him tightly, she added, "We may not show it, but we're grateful."

Riku smiled over to Sora. "I'm just glad we made it in time." He shook his head and patted his best friend's back. "I mean, what would I…or Kairi!" he added quickly, with a flush. "What would either of us do without the Keybearer?"

Sora grinned over to Riku. "Yeah, I can easily beat you down any day, buddy."

"Even if you needed some help today?" Riku laughed as Sora rolled his eyes.

Phoebus broke from hugging Esmeralda to gesture at Quasimodo. "Don't just thank me. Quasimodo had the map, and Sora convinced him to come. Without either of them, I would've never gotten here."

"Nor would I!"

The five of them glanced up to see Frollo standing at the entrance of the Court of Miracles with, as promised, about a thousand men standing behind him. The men quickly rushed in and began taking the gypsies into custody as Frollo slowly descended the stairs with an evil grin. Sora, Riku, Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Phoebus stood back to back, glaring at the guards.

"Think we can take them down?" Riku asked, itching to summon his Keyblade. Sora frowned and shook his head. "Come on, Sora! Didn't you fight a thousand Heartless by yourself?"

"What about the people in danger?" Sora shot back. "I only had myself to worry about then. We can't put the others in harm's way!"

Riku groaned, but nodded, clenching his fists when Frollo approached their group.

"After twenty years of searching, the Court of Miracles is mine at last…" Frollo smiled to himself, before patting Quasimodo's head. "Dear Quasimodo… I always knew you'd someday be of use to me."

Quasimodo shook his head in disbelief as Esmeralda glared up to Frollo. "What are you talking about?"

"Why," he smiled at her, and, when noting Riku, gave him a nod as well. "He led me right to you two."

Esmeralda continued to glare up to him as Frollo moved down to speak to Phoebus. "Look who else I caught in my net – Captain Phoebus and his squire Sora, back from the dead. Another…miracle, no doubt." He glanced down to Sora, who hadn't moved since talking to Riku, and smiled. "Well, I always knew you were a liar, boy. Perhaps you should be a part of the main attraction tomorrow."

"The…the what?" Sora asked, even if he _really_ didn't want to know the answer.

Moving away from Sora, Frollo spoke louder, so everyone could hear him. "There will be a little bonfire in the square tomorrow. And you're all invited to attend!" Frollo nodded to both Sora and Esmeralda, and Sora's eyes widened.

"Me…?"

"Why boy," Frollo continued, shaking his head. "I knew you had some affiliation with the gypsies from the beginning. From how strangely you're dressed to your relationship with this girl…" He glanced over to Riku, who finally broke from the guards grip, summoned his Keyblade, and stood in between Sora and Frollo.

"I will kill you if you land a _hand_ on him!" Riku shouted, ignoring the fact that he was supposed to play the "girl," his voice deep with anger. Frollo looked slightly surprised, but shook his head.

"It is _clear_ that you are not the girl you portray, and yet you still have disgusting feelings for this…traitor. Guards!" Two guards moved behind Riku, grabbing him by the arms and forcing him to drop his Keyblade. The blade disappeared into nothingness and Riku glared up to Frollo, malice in his eyes as he struggled against the guards. "Lock him up – after the bonfire, we shall have a hanging in the square as well." With a smile, he ordered the guards to take Riku away before turning back to Sora. "Maybe that will teach you a lesson."

Riku fought against the guards, kicking and thrashing about as violently as he could. When a guard tried to restrain him, Riku kicked him squarely in the crotch and jumped back, planning to summon his Keyblade again. What he didn't expect, however, was another guard standing behind him to bash him with the hilt of his sword. Riku glanced over to where Sora stood, before crumpling to the ground without another sound. The guard who had hit him smiled, and hefted Riku over his shoulder.

"Riku!" Sora shouted, trying to shove past the guards that separated them. Ignoring what he'd told Riku earlier, he summoned his Keyblade and began to fight off the guards blocking his path. He almost caught up to the silver haired teen when a something crashed into him, knocking him off balance. Sora shook his head and scrambled to his feet, only to see what he thought he'd never see again, in this world or another. "The heartless?!" He exclaimed, easily slashing through a Shadow.

Sora would've continued to fight against the heartless, but as he destroyed one, dozens appeared in its place, and soon Sora was surrounded by them. He tried continuing his onslaught, but the group of Shadows pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.

Frollo smiled again, before approaching Sora and looking down at him. "These creatures are attracted to the strong of heart, like myself, or so I'm told. Pity… now you'll never be with that disgusting boy again." Sora struggled against the Heartless, his face showing his sheer confusion. Didn't they _defeat_ the Heartless? What was the point of destroying Xemnas if the Heartless were back again?

He barely registered the fact that a pair of guards grabbed him by the arms and dragged him away. Quasimodo dropped to his knees and grabbed at Frollo's robes. "No…please, master!"

Frollo shot him a cruel glare and Quasimodo stopped, dropping to the ground and beginning to sob. "Take him back to the bell tower." Frollo ordered to another set of guards, who nodded and began to drag him off. "And make sure he _stays_ there."


	9. Sunset

**A/N**: Hey guys! ...Two months again. I know, I'm really bad. I lazed around all summer with summer projects and band camp and SAT practice and blahblah, I should've worked harder!

No, wait... ahah. I remember why it took me to long! I have a new story (done, actually), called "Dreaming Wide Awake" which I worked on before this one. It was so long that it took a while, but I didn't want to hold this chapter any longer! When it comes out, drop a look at it! It's pretty interesting!

...Alright. I'll stop advertising. :D Anyway, hope you like this chapter! We're almost at the end: the final battle! Next will be the last chapter, and wow. Hee. Anyway, hope you enjoy this, and please review if you can!

* * *

Riku threw himself against the metal bars with a yell before stumbling over his feet and collapsing in the dirt. He refused to let himself give up, and struggled to his feet, mostly leaning against the wall to stand up due to the guards tying his hands.

"Give it up, kid," one guard remarked as Riku glared at him.

_Give it up_? How could he? After Esmeralda was burned, Sora would be burned. After him, Riku would be hanged. How in the world _could_ he give up his only attempts to get out of here?

He was currently stuck in the correctional facility a little ways away from Notre Dame. He had no idea where Sora, Phoebus, or Quasimodo had been taken, but if Frollo had his way, Sora would be burning along side of Esmeralda. Riku gave a cry and threw himself against the bars again, crumbling to the ground in a heap when, again, nothing happened.

How could this have happened?! Okay, maybe he loved Sora and that wasn't right in this world. But what did _Sora_ have anything to do with this? Why should Sora have to be burned? All he did was try and help people that needed help!

Riku gave a small smirk. Yeah, and he irritated Frollo. That should've been enough of a warning there.

Shaking his head, he tried to summon his Keyblade; it fell on the ground next to him, causing him to growl and he made it disappear again. If he could break free of the ropes holding his hands, he could _easily_ get out of here!

"FIRAGA!"

Riku blinked, recognizing the voice as screams from the guards pierced the air. "Get them!" A group of guards shouted to the ones watching Riku's cell. They nodded and joined in the fray, but when a stream of ice flew at them, they ran back the way they came. One was about to run past the cell to leave through the other side of the jail when a giant shield came flying past, nailing the guy in the head, and causing him to fall on the ground. When his saviors approached, Riku grinned wider than he'd ever thought he would at the irritable duck.

"Donald! Goofy!"

Goofy gave him a wave and began attacking the cell door as Donald rolled his eyes. "You guys took so long that King Mickey sent us!" he exclaimed as Goofy finally broke down the door and pushed it open.

"D'you know where Sora is?" Goofy asked, untying Riku's hands. With his hands finally free, Riku summoned his Keyblade and gripped it angrily.

"No, but if he's where I _think_, he'd be in the center square." He stood up and stretched his arms. Looking back, slamming himself against the bars hadn't been the smartest idea. "Frollo, this priest guy, wants to burn him."

Donald's eyes widened and he gave a squawk. "What are we still doing here then?!" he exclaimed, rushing out of the cell. "Come on!"

"Would you know why the Heartless are here?" Goofy questioned as Riku ran beside him catching up to Donald. "We landed the Gummi Ship, and next thing we knew, we were attacked by the Heartless!"

"They were easy, of course," Donald boasted. "Only Shadows."

If they weren't in this situation, Riku might've glared at Donald. However, thankful that they had saved him, he resisted the urge. "Yeah, but I get the feeling that some stronger Heartless might appear," he admitted, shaking his head. "I mean, Frollo's plenty evil. He's trying to kill off an entire race of people because they don't match his needs." Riku clenched his fist and lead the way for the two, Keyblade at the ready. "Come on. It's dawn, and we don't have much time!"

* * *

It turned out that Riku was wrong about Sora's whereabouts. Although he thought the brunet was tied at the stake alongside Esmeralda, he was currently locked in a dungeon under the cathedral, being taunted at by guards. With a glare, Sora attempted to throw himself against the bars of the jail, for his hands were tied with rope as well, and ignored the tittering chuckles of the guards when he fell to the ground again.

"He's going to pass out at this rate," one of the guards muttered to the other, shaking his head. "Frollo won't be pleased if his big catch isn't conscious to feel his pain."

The second guard gave a nod before unlocking the door to the cell. Sora crawled backwards, trying to get to the opposing wall in order to stand up. The guard only smiled. "Well, I have one way to keep the boy awake." The first guard's eyes widened, and the second shrugged. "Say nothing after it – besides. The boy won't tell."

Sora gritted his teeth and prepared himself for a certainly unfair fight when someone dropped from the ceiling and landed on the second guard, knocking him out cold. The first guard gave a shriek before rushing out of the cell and running out of the building. Sora blinked before examining the person carefully, only to grin widely at the recognition.

"Kairi!"

She groaned and rolled off the guard, rubbing her back in pain. "I'm never letting Donald touch the Gummi Controls again. I was heading to the world's portal, but _no_." Rolling her eyes, she stood up, grinning widely when she noticed Sora. "Well, at least I was right!" Grabbing him in a tight hug, she squeezed him tightly. "Sora! Where's Riku? Are you guys alright?!"

He nodded to his currently tied arms, and she quickly got to work. "I'm supposed to die…in a few minutes." Kairi's jaw dropped, but she finished untying his arms. He summoned his Keyblade and nodded, feeling reassured. "Esmeralda, a gypsy here, is supposed to be…well, dead. Like now. And Riku's been locked up, because he's supposed to be hanged after I die."

Kairi only shook her head at Sora. "Can't stay out of trouble, can you guys?" She headed to the door, just as the guard she landed on began to stir. He gave her a look, and opened his mouth to shout to a fellow guard but was quickly whacked upside the head by Kairi's keyblade. Sora gave her a look and raised his own keyblade, and she shrugged. "I know. I can fight too, silly."

She grabbed his arm and rushed out of the cell before giving him an embarrassed grin. "Uh, which way is out again?"

Sora only playfully rolled his eyes, but led her out of the cathedral and into the center square.

* * *

"Wha-!" Donald exclaimed, running alongside Riku as the three of them parted through the crowds. "What's going on here?!"

"Esmeralda!" Riku shouted, ignoring Donald as he ran towards the platform she was tied to. Frollo was smirking deviously at her, and was slowly lowering the torch to the pyre at her feet. Riku kept his keyblade at the ready, ignoring the fact that his heart was pounding so hard from fear. "_Esmeralda!_"

He was stopped, however, by a guard that was at the foot of the stairs to the platform. "Hey! You should be locked up!" the guard shouted, grabbing his arm and hefting Riku easily over his shoulder. Riku all but snarled before kicking the guard in the crotch and jumping over him, continuing to run to her. It took the surrounding guards to hold him down, but by then he knew he was too late.

Suddenly, a shield knocked away the guards on his right. Riku slashed away at the guards on his left and jumped up. Donald's jaw dropped and Riku turned to the platform, only to see that Esmeralda was already coughing from the smoke surrounding her due to the flames. He made to move, but Donald pointed up to the bell tower.

"We don't have time!" Riku shouted.

"Look!" Donald squawked.

So Riku did look. Up there, Quasimodo had finally gave his all to pulling away at his chains, causing the bells in Notre Dame to ring almost violently. When he finally broke free, he grabbed a nearby rope, wrapped it around a nearby column, and swung down to the platform Esmeralda was on. He quickly untied Esmeralda, knocked the surrounding guards away, grabbed the rope again, and jumped back into the air, all but climbing up the side of the cathedral.

Donald's mouth was open in an "o," and Riku had to admit – that was pretty cool. Shaking his head, he continued running, calling after him that he had to find Sora.

"Riku!"

Riku turned to see Phoebus shaking the bars of his cage and a guard standing tauntingly in front of him. With a smirk, Riku knocked the guard upside the head, grabbed the keys, and unlocked Phoebus's cage before handing him the keys. Phoebus gave a grateful nod before hopping on top of his cage to rally up the citizens to fight against Frollo.

"Sora!" Riku called, looking around for the brunet. To the best of his knowledge, Sora should be here _somewhere_…

"Riku!" Riku blinked and squinted through the crowd. Someone was calling his name, but the voice was too high to be Sora's. Thinking back to the Donald and Goofy appearance, he grinned and quickly approached the voice.

Kairi and Sora fought and maneuvered their way through the crowds and guards, and Riku swept them both into a tight hug as soon as he could. "Kairi, Sora!"

With a grin, Kairi hugged him back. "I'm so glad you're safe!" Riku nodded and turned to Sora, whose smile had suddenly fallen from his face.

"A Darkside," Sora muttered, before glancing up to Riku and Kairi. Both exchanged glanced, and Sora shook his head. "I…I can feel it. It's here…somewhere."

"Wait, those Heartless that were behind the Door to Light? The ones you fought before Destiny Islands disappeared?" Riku asked, recalling Sora's tales from before they separated.

Kairi gave them both a confused look. "What…?"

Sora glanced to the cathedral and took off running. "Sora!" Riku shouted, and he and Kairi quickly sprinted after the brunet.

Riku glanced back to Kairi, who, although she was holding up pretty well, was struggling to keep up with Sora's speed. He made to slow down to let her catch up, but she shook her head. "Riku! If you get caught, you'll be arrested!" she exclaimed. "Go on ahead!"

Knowing she was right but still feeling bad, he turned and ran to the cathedral. As he approached, magma began spilling from the roof of the church. Kairi screamed and rushed back, glad that she hadn't hurried to catch up. Riku's eyes widened, but he realized there was no way for her to meet up with them, so he tore open the door and rushed inside, trying to ignore how eerie being inside the all but silent church was.

He saw Sora and groaned, slowly jogging up to the boy. "Sora, I kno-"

Sora instantly covered Riku's mouth and pointed down the hall, to where the archdeacon was being tossed off the stairs like an inanimate object. "Silence you old fool!" Frollo muttered before disappearing from sight completely.

When Frollo was gone, Sora removed his hand, and Riku raised his arms in the air. "Are you insane!? If Kairi wasn't such a slow runner, she could be dead by now!"

Sora bit his lip and glanced outside. "She got out, right?"

Riku sighed. "She's fine. Just outside in the pandemonium."

Giving a grim smile, Sora approached the archdeacon to help the poor man up. "We'll have to defeat it together, then."

The archdeacon gave them a curious look. "You wouldn't be talking about Frollo, would you?" He shook his head disapprovingly. "He's gone mad… And these… unholy creatures have been springing up around the cathedral. None have gotten inside but…"

Suddenly, the ground shook and the archdeacon almost collapsed over again, but Sora kept him standing. Riku had to lean against a pillar, and when the shaking stopped, he glanced over to both Sora and the archdeacon with a groan. "It _is_ here."

The archdeacon didn't argue with him. He attempted to stand up straight, but swayed unsteady on his feet; Sora easily caught him, to which he smiled at. "Thank you. I guess that fall was harder on me than I thought." Grabbing Sora's hand, he continued. "Stop this madness on the cathedral, I implore you! I'd do it myself, but…" He gave a sad smile. "I'm not too young anymore."

Sora summoned his Keyblade and gave the man a wide grin. "We'll be alright. Come on Riku."

Riku gave a smile back to the man before they rushed through the corridors of the church, slowly peeking around every corner, just so they wouldn't be surprised. Riku was rechecking his potions when Sora slowly approached him. "Hey, Riku?"

He jumped and drew his Keyblade, expecting a Heartless attack, but saw only Sora. "Oh…" He lowered his weapon and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Fidgeting his feet a bit, Sora didn't answer. Riku raised an eyebrow, but Sora only sighed, leaned over, grabbed Riku's shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. Both of Riku's eyebrows went up, but he smiled into the kiss, and was about to close his eyes when Sora pulled back with a grim smile. "That's in case we don't make it."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Sora, you've defeated this thing by yourself. We'll be fine."

Sora smirked and gripped his Keyblade tighter. "Alright." Grinning over to Riku, he added, "Then that was in case we do."

Riku couldn't help but grin back, but when something smashed against the ground again, he became serious and rushed after Sora, following him into battle.

* * *

Quasimodo leaned over Esmeralda, crying over her cold body as Frollo inched his way into the room, trying his best to mask his anger that the girl hadn't died. Quasimodo gave a sniff. "You killed her."

"It was my duty, horrible as it was," Frollo crooned, shaking his head. "I hope you can forgive me." He patted Quasimodo's back, but Quasimodo only jerked away. "There, there… I know it hurts. But I have a way to end your suffering…"

Quasimodo raised his head, as if trying to see what Frollo was talking about, only to see the shadow of a raised dagger in Frollo's hands, prepared to stab him. Quasimodo jumped up and wrestled the dagger out of Frollo's arms, ignoring his former master's pleas as he backed him into a corner. "No, you listen! All my life you have told me the world is a dark, cruel place. But now, I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!" He chucked the dagger away, just in time to hear Esmeralda lightly call his name. "Esmeralda!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side.

Frollo quickly climbed to his feet. "She lives," he stated, pulling out a sword from its sheath.

Quasimodo's eyes widened before he grabbed Esmeralda and quickly ran out into the balcony.

* * *

"Riku, potion!"

Riku nodded and chucked one to the brunet, who deftly caught it and continued hacking away at the Darkside's head. Shaking his head at the sheer fact that Sora had managed to get up there, Riku ducked under the strange looking feet of the Darkside and attacked its ankles, noting a weak point.

Fighting this thing was all about strategy. Besides dodging the balls of darkness that were floating around it and the occasional Shadow, it wasn't too bad…

_BAM!_

Riku fell to the ground before glancing up to see if Sora had managed to stay where he was. When he didn't see Sora, he scrambled to his feet and ran past the Shadows nipping at his ankles before slicing through a small, collective group of them. Underneath the group was Sora, eyes closed and obviously hurt. Riku groaned and reached in his pockets for another potion, making a mental note that, if he was going to ever fight again, these pants were not the way to go – too few spaces for potions.

He only had one left, but the battle loomed on, and he didn't want Sora to get hurt again. Sora gave a light groan, slowly sitting up and holding his head. Riku offered the potion, but Sora brushed past him, not too steady on his feet, and ran to attack the arm of the Darkside that was reaching into the ground to grab a Darkball.

Riku only groaned and ran after him, hoping nothing else would hurt Sora.

* * *

Frollo glanced around the balcony before smirking to himself and leaning over the railings, seeing Esmeralda and Quasimodo hanging there. He swung at them, but Quasimodo quickly leapt from the statutes that jutted out from the cathedral, leaving them behind for Frollo to attack.

Quasimodo got far enough away and allowed Esmeralda to climb onto the balcony again, and tried to climb up himself, due to the fact that there was nowhere else for him to go. Frollo smirked and raised his cape to him. "I should've known you'd risk your life to save her…just as your own mother died saving you."

Quasimodo's eyes widened, a suddenly realization that Frollo had been lying to him all his life. "What?" he whispered.

Ignoring him, Frollo continued. "Now, I'm going to do what I should've done…twenty years ago!" He swung his cape over Quasimodo's head and jerked down onto it, taking the bell ringer over the side of the cathedral.

* * *

"Eternal Session!"

Sora glanced over to Riku, who exclaimed again, "It's the quickest way to defeat it!"

Sora nodded, and the two of them teamed up for their joint attack, preparing to strike when the Darkside slammed his hand down onto the church floor.

* * *

With an extra jerk, Quasimodo sent Frollo over the side of the church with him. Esmeralda grabbed onto Quasimodo's arms in an attempt to keep him from falling. But, by swinging on the cape that Quasimodo was still clinging to, Frollo was able to climb back onto the balcony, and stood onto a hanging statue, smirking widely.

Esmeralda gave him a horrified look as Frollo raised the sword high above his head, his eyes red and crazed. "And He shall smite the wicked," Frollo began, his smile growing wider as he glanced down, seeing the pit of magma that was as large as before. "And plunge them into the fiery _pit_!"

* * *

After the XIII Blades attack with Sora, Riku jumped back to back with Sora before taking another step and throwing Way To Dawn into the make shift whirlwind, and shouting, "Gonna lose it all!" The two Keyblades, like magnets, drew the Darkside into the middle of them, and continuously pounded against the monster, chipping away at its life strength until there was nothing left.

* * *

However, the statue Frollo was standing on suddenly cracked, as though all of Frollo's luck had suddenly worn out, and, after grabbing onto the statue (as though hoping that it could save him), Frollo himself plunged into the fiery pit, doing what he said he would do.

* * *

Riku fell to his knees, glad that the battle was over (and not remembering any battle taking this much out of him – except maybe the Xemnas battle), and glanced over to Sora, only to see the brunet not moving. Or breathing.

Riku gulped and climbed to his feet, ignoring the aches in his bones, before landing next to Sora, and gently shaking the brunet. "Come on… Sora? We've won! It's over!"

When Sora didn't respond, Riku bit his lip and grabbed the last potion. With a grin, he quickly opened it, and tried to force it into Sora's mouth, but the precious potion only trickled down the sides of his face. Riku couldn't swallow the lump in his throat, pushing away any thought that might have let him continue to think that Sora wouldn't end up a hundred percent okay, and continued to think.

He glanced at the potion bottle before taking a swig himself and leaning in front of Sora's face. _Well, he did say the kiss was for later_, Riku thought to himself before pressing his lips against Sora's, forcing down the potion.

When that was done, Riku pulled back, holding his breath to make sure he wasn't just drowning Sora with the potion. He had to force himself to breath, seeing as Sora didn't move for another minute or so, and Riku simply took another swig of the potion and leaned in to give it to Sora again.

Bringing his lips onto Sora's, he felt movement beneath him, and blinked, moving back. Sora coughed violently before giving Riku a strange look. Riku held out the potion bottle and allowed Sora to heal up before swallowing the potion with a grimace. Ugh – that stuff tasted good when you were in trouble. Otherwise it was like swallowing toothpaste.

Sora breathed slowly before grinning up to Riku. "Sorry," he said. "I…should've taken the potion earlier."

Riku rolled his eyes before giving Sora a tight hug. "It's okay. Let's get out of here."

"Riku?" Riku turned back to Sora, who had a grip on Riku's shirt. "I… I love you."

"You sure you're not just delusional?" Riku responded with a smile. When Sora rolled his eyes, his smiled only grew wider. "I love you too."

"Good." Sora grinned, before his eyes closed and he collapsed onto Riku's chest. Riku blinked, but quickly checked his heartbeat (still going, good), and resigned himself to carry Sora.

* * *

When the two of them finally arrived at the bottom of the church, the pit of magma had disappeared (Riku didn't ask, but was glad it was gone), and Esmeralda, Phoebus, and Quasimodo were all out in the streets, smiling and celebrating. Kairi ran up to Riku and hugged him tightly before glancing down to the sleeping Sora in his arms. She raised her eyebrow, and Riku groaned.

"The fight. He's just tired."

Donald and Goofy approached, and Donald raised his staff. "Just watch. Thunderga will have him up in no time!" Riku held Sora a little closer while shaking his head.

Esmeralda ran up to Riku and gave him a tight hug, smiling widely. "Oh, Riku, you should've seen it! Frollo was about to attack, but somehow, it was like… he just lost all his power, and fell!" She frowned at the memory of someone, even though evil, dying in front of her, but shook her head. "And then…"

Phoebus appeared on her other side. "She dropped Quasimodo. But I caught him." She narrowed her eyes and gave him a tight hug as well, while Kairi blinked and glanced over to Riku.

"Who are they?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

Riku shook his head. "I'll tell you later." He scanned through the crowd, until he could see Quasimodo being lifted by the crowds and paraded throughout the city. "They like him now, huh?"

Esmeralda's smile could've easily broken her face. "Yeah. They do."

Phoebus took another glance at Sora before patting Riku's shoulder. "Come on, let's stop by my place. Let the kid sleep for a while."

Riku nodded, but Esmeralda only gave him a strange look. "You have a place?"

"Ex-Captain of the Guard," Phoebus smirked in response, as Clopin, hanging from a nearby pole, cheered on Quasimodo. "It's a _nice_ place, too."

Riku only shook his head with a smile and followed after Phoebus. When he thought nobody was looking, he lightly kissed Sora's forehead and continued walking with a smile.


	10. Happily Ever After

**A/N: **Okay, I have no excuse, except for junior year kinda kicked (and is kicking) my ass to Saturday. And video games/TV are very distracting. Oh. And I kinda lost totally interest in this fandom. But I still feel horrible, because, DUDE. This story is at the end, and you guys deserve this. Much love for sticking to this for so long (and I do mean long), and thanks for reading

* * *

When Sora awoke the next morning, he grimaced, rubbing his arm, and sat up. All that rewarded him was full-on confusion as to where he was and what he was doing there.

He made to climb out of the bed when the door to the room opened and Kairi walked inside. She blinked before all but tackling him back onto the bed, her face almost splitting with her smile. "Sora! You're finally awake!"

He grinned and patted her back. "Yeah, I'm good. Where's Riku? Where am I?"

Pulling back, she flicked his forehead with a smile. "You're at Phoebus's house. Cottage. Whatever they call it in this world." She glanced out of the window and shrugged. "Last time I saw Riku, he was busy talking with Esmeralda and Phoebus about the condition of the world."

Sora raised his eyebrow, goading her to continue; she sighed. "Frollo disappeared – no one can find even his remains! – and the Heartless are gone as well. The only thing these people in this town will have to worry about is mingling with gypsies, seeing as many seem to despise them quite a lot."

He nodded before climbing out of bed and glancing out of the window. "Kairi..." he started, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. "Thanks for coming to this world. You – and Donald and Goofy – really saved the two of us."

Rolling her eyes, Kairi slapped Sora upside the head. "Silly. Of course I'd come." She approached him, wagging her finger in his face and he took a step back. "Next time, however, I'm coming along from the beginning. No more will the damsel save the men in distress, you hear me?"

Sora grinned and he gave her a tight hug. "Of course, Kairi."

--

As Sora walked through the quiet streets of Paris, he couldn't help but smile at what he saw. Quasimodo sat beside a fountain, surrounded by children, as he told them an imaginative tale about gargoyles up in the bell tower. _Maybe not all that imaginative…_ Sora snorted softly, continuing to walk past him.

One of the girls that made up the group of children stood up and grabbed his hand, effectively pulling him into the circle. He grimaced (she _had_ tugged on his bruised arm), but sat next to Quasimodo anyway, smiling at the kids.

Quasimodo gave him one of the brightest smiles Sora thought he'd ever seen. "They were asking about the fight – with Frollo of course – and I thought, well, since you were a part of the fight…" Quasimodo's way of speech included him flailing his arms every which way and the children in the crowd giggled.

Sora gave a nervous chuckle and ran his hands through his hair. "It wasn't much – just Riku and I fought the Heartless…" The little kids blinked up to him. Sora playfully rolled his eyes. "Oh, I mean the big scary monster, but Quasimodo saved the day."

One of the boys tilted his head in confusion. "Riku?" he repeated, curious. "Was she that girl you fought with?"

Sora held back a snort. "Girl?! Riku's very much a guy!"

Riku wasn't going to like what those kids thought about him. Sora grinned to himself, half wondering how he could rub it in Riku's face as much as possible.

"…maybe this Sora boy is a girl. My mommy said that that Riku person carried him out of the cathedral and kissed him!"

There were more giggles, but Sora focused on the child who spoke. "Come again?"

The little boy puffed out his chest, as though trying to prove himself. Sora smiled, and the kid deflated. "Well, Riku, or whoever he is, carried you and," he exchanged glances with his nearby friends, "kissed you!" They all burst into giggles again and Sora gave Quasimodo a helpless look.

Quasimodo only shrugged and patted Sora's back; Sora bit his lip to hide the tears – that was no ordinary pat, it was a freaking punch! "You should try talking to Riku, instead of trying to get your information from…" He nodded to the kids again, and Sora groaned.

"Yeah, but how's that for not awkward?" he mumbled. With a smile and a wave, he hopped up from his seat, and disappeared into the Parisian crowd to find Riku.

--

Who Sora found, however, was not Riku. Sitting in a small café was Donald, Goofy, and Phoebus, exchanging baguettes and cups of what looked like tea like old friends. If Sora wasn't so used to Donald and Goofy, he would've found the scene either hysterical or creepy. According to the shopkeeper's bewildered eyes, he probably found it both.

"Sora!" Donald called, beckoning the brunet over with his wing. Sora grabbed a nearby chair and grinned to the three of them.

"So, what'd I miss?"

Phoebus frowned slightly before breaking off a piece of bread for Sora. Nibbling on it, Sora realized he was incredibly hungry and grabbed more. "Thought so. You've been out for a day. Probably haven't eaten at all, have you?"

Sora attempted to respond, but Phoebus rolled his eyes. "Finish your food first, Sora. No one needs to see that this early in the morning."

Scowling, Sora swallowed the bread, but Goofy spoke before he could. "Uh, so Phoebus? You say the Heartless are all gone?"

Phoebus gave a nod and took a gulp of his tea. "While my squire," Phoebus winked over to Sora, but the brunet was busy drowning himself in the baguette, "slept, I checked around the city with Esmeralda and Riku. Apparently, there's not even a trace that the Heartless were even here. Except, obviously, the fact that Frollo has disappeared as well."

"What brought you guys here anyway?" Sora asked, taking a break from the food. Only a breather, though, and after the question was out, he dove back onto it.

Donald rolled his eyes. "King Mickey was worried, because you two hadn't come back in time." He whacked Goofy, and the captain of the knights pulled out a letter that had the king's seal. "We dropped by Destiny Islands to see if you guys might have returned but not reported back…"

"I thought that was impossible, but Donald insisted…" Goofy said, only to be squawked at by Donald.

"Anyway! When we got there, you weren't there –" Donald ignored Goofy's grin "—And Kairi demanded that she be taken along."

Goofy shook his head. "Nope, demanded isn't right. She kinda, uh, stored herself away in the gummi ship and didn't let herself be seen until we were halfway here. Smart girl."

"She could've gotten hurt!" Donald screeched, making the poor shop owner wince.

Phoebus gave the shop owner a pitying look, but Sora shook his head. "She's strong. Always has been. She would've been fine, no matter what."

Belly filled with delicious bread (and not having the munny on him to pay for it - he'd pay Phoebus back later...someday), Sora headed back into the city, wondering where the heck his best friend could be.

--

Sora eventually found him, after a few more hours of scrounging the city. He was sitting on a wall by the river, next to Esmeralda. She must've said something funny, because he laughed, clutching his sides tightly, and holding onto the wall with all his might. Sora gave a frown before approaching them, wondering why in the world he felt so jealous.

Yeah, sure, he liked the guy. Was it Esmeralda's fault that she conveniently made Riku laugh when Sora just happened to approach?

Huh. That sure was convenient.

"Sora!" Esmeralda was all smiles as she climbed to her feet and gave Sora a hug. "I was just telling Riku here…oh, never mind. It's not important. I'm so glad you're alright!"

Sora smiled, feeling horrible at the fact that he felt jealous of her for a moment. "I'm glad everything worked out too. Sorry I wasn't much help at the aftermath."

Esmeralda shook her head. "Stop, you helped out plenty. Even if our Riku had to carry you out of the cathedral." She grinned and threaded her hands through the side of Riku's hair that wasn't braided, and Riku scowled at her, his eyes light.

Sora frowned ever-so-slightly, hoping that the strange feeling in his stomach was still hunger.

Shaking her head, Esmeralda lightly kissed Riku's forehead and whispered something in his ear. When Riku flushed and swatted her away, she only smiled wider and gave Sora a wave. "It was lovely meeting you both, really. Stop the cathedral again if you have the time, alright?"

Not waiting for an answer, Esmeralda walked away, almost dancing as she maneuvered her way through the crowds.

Riku gave a cough before turning to Sora. "Sorry about her. She's… well, I dunno. She's something."

Sora smiled after her – he was never one to hold a grudge for long – before plopping down onto the river wall and tucking his knees to his chest. "I'm glad this world is safe. I mean… we stopped the bad guy and now we head on home right?"

Riku sat beside Sora. "Kairi and I have planned to stick around a few more days, just to make sure everything is alright." Sora nodded, but Riku only raised his eyebrow. "You sure you're alright?"

"Will it all stay on this world?" Sora all but whispered. Riku leaned in, unable to hear him, and Sora frowned. "I mean, yeah, I do like you – I probably feel more about you than _like_, but let's not go there right now – but …is this it?"

Riku could not have looked more confused if he tried. "What do you mean, Sora?"

After giving a groan of annoyance, Sora turned to face Riku. "I mean this," he said, grabbing Riku's shoulders and pulling him forward for a kiss. Riku's eyes widened at the forcefulness of it, but when Sora pulled back, he shook his head.

"What do you --?"

"Do we just bury all of this here? Would you rather me not bring that up ever again? I mean…" Sora chewed his lip, frowning all the while. "You're Riku. Even after we've come back and everyone stays away from you, the kids on the island – everyone, actually – looks up to you. I don't…want this to haunt you, but I don't want to be just your convenient, 'Oh, since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well kiss my best friend'!"

Riku blinked, leaning away from Sora. "Is that what you think?"

Sora pursed his lips before tucking his knees to his chest and sighing. "I've been thinking."

Rolling his eyes, Riku pulled Sora close for a hug. "A pretty bad habit, you know." Riku exhaled a shaky breath before continuing. "Sora, in all honesty? I've loved you for a long time. And no, I don't want this to be some resort I take just because no one else is around." Riku gave Sora an extra squeeze before leaning back, his expression quickly turning solemn.

"But you do have to realize that it's not going to be easy. I mean, obviously Kairi will be behind us… Well, knowing her, she already knew but still…" Riku gave a snort and shook his head.

Sora cut him off. "I really don't care. Besides, you're my best friend. I kinda want you stuck in my life forever and ever." With a smile, Sora glanced up to Riku. "As long as we're together, we can conquer any trouble, any evil, any _thing_ that might get thrown at us. Because if nothing else, we'll be together."

"That…" Riku smiled widely, shaking his head. "I know you're being serious, but that was such a clichéd line."

"Oh, shut up."

Grinning, Riku hopped to his feet, and after reaching a hand down for Sora, pulled the brunet up as well. "We have all of Paris to explore … uh, I mean, examine, before we have to go back."

Sora beamed back. "Awesome! I mean, we can grab Esmeralda – oh, maybe Phoebus, if he can. And we have to get Kairi! And Goofy… Donald too, I guess. We can all explore the city together!"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Riku pulled Sora close and kissed him. After breaking apart, Riku smiled down to Sora. "We can go with everyone later. How about we go…alone at first?"

Sora's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but when Riku nipped at his neck, his eyes lit up. "Oh…_oh_… well." Sora gave Riku a devious smirk and nodded. "Yeah, I think we should explore the city first on our own."

"Just to make sure it's safe and all," Riku replied with a chuckle, grabbing Sora's hand and giving it a tight squeeze.

Sora grinned back and the two boys quickly ran into the chaos that was more often referred to as the city of Paris.


End file.
